


More than You Bargained for

by Jujukind, supercasey



Series: Eddsworld Monster Apartments AU [1]
Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Camping, Carnival, Circus, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Ghosts, M/M, Magic, Magic Revealed, Magic-Users, Monster Transformation, Monsters, Multi, Neighbors, Paranormal, Piercings, Rivals to Lovers, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Sharing an apartment, Smoking, Social Anxiety, Supernatural Elements, Transformation, Wizards, eventual OT4 - Freeform, there are too many goddamn tags fuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:04:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 44,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6358645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jujukind/pseuds/Jujukind, https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercasey/pseuds/supercasey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edward Gold is looking for a place to stay as he grows restless of living with his parents. When a Craigslist Ad leads him to room with Matt Harvest, he’s convinced that he’s found the perfect place to live. But weird things are happening- weird things that can’t be explained- and it’s up to Edd to figure out why!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fourteenth Floor

**Author's Note:**

> A/N (Supercasey): A Co-written Eddsworld fic, written by myself and Jujukind on Tumblr. This fic was written with our blood, sweat, and tears, and honestly it’s the long-fic this fandom deserves. This is to all the fan-artists, fan-writers, and creators of Eddsworld! Please R&R (Read & Review)!
> 
> A/N (Jujukind): Get ready you sinners.

[DURDAN LANE APARTMENTS - ROOMMATE NEEDED - PETS ALLOWED (NO DOGS) - PLENTY OF SPACE - ONE BATHROOM - ONE KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM - TWO BEDROOMS - OPEN FOR INTERVIEWS ON FRIDAYS]

Edd Gold looks over the Craigslist Ad with interest, nonchalantly petting his cat as he does so. Ringo purrs in his owner’s lap, kneading the cartoonist's jeans. “What do you think, Ringo?” Edd asks, smiling at his cat as he looks over the Ad. “Think we should see if this is the one?”

Ringo, for all he’s worth, just flicks an ear at his owner, not giving a vocal response. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Edd decides, scratching behind the feline’s ears.

…

Durdan Lane Apartments is a lot bigger up close. Edd approaches slowly, a great uneasiness filling his gut. He shakes it off, heading inside. As soon as he enters, a calm feeling of security covers him like a warm blanket. Smiling, Edd takes the elevator to the fourteenth floor, whistling under his breath as he tries to ignore the many stares he receives from the building’s residents. They’re probably not used to outsiders, Edd thinks, writing off the attention as nothing. The elevator creaks and growls as it moves, making Edd feel uncomfortable, but again, he writes it off as nothing unusual. Some elevators are just old.

The elevator reaches the fourteenth floor, and Edd escapes the rickety old machine quickly, walking right over to apartment twenty-eight. He knocks, and immediately, a young ginger man answers the door. He can’t be much younger or older than Edd- maybe a year younger- but he’s definitely been taking better care of himself than Edd. While Edd has been living off of ramen and McDonalds for the last few years, this guy has obviously been getting his vitamins. Edd smiles when the stranger answers, searching his head for the guy’s name- oh, right. Matt. Matthew Harvest. Matt smiles at Edd, much more open to him than the other residents.

“Oh, hey,” Matt says, looking Edd over. “You must be…”

“Edd. Edward Gold,” Edd explains, taking Matt’s hand in his and shaking it. He tries not to shiver at the touch- Matt’s hands are freakishly cold! “I called yesterday about the apartment.”

Matt moves to the side, letting Edd in. “Come on in, buddy,” He offers, beckoning the young cartoonist inside. “Have a look around the old place!”

Edd enters, kicking off his shoes as he comes inside. The first thing he notices is all the pictures- a few are of people Edd doesn’t recognize doing ridiculous poses and making funny faces, though most of them are of scenery, looking to have been taken for aesthetic purposes. So, he’s into photography? Good to know. Maybe he and Edd can converse about different art forms later on. The apartment is well furnished, with expensive looking furniture taking up a lot of space. It really makes him wonder why Matt isn’t living in a more elegant apartment building. Edd shrugs it off, assuming that it has to do with wherever Matt works or something of the like.

“It’s not… always this clean. My neighbor Tord made me clean up before you could come over,” Matt admits, chuckling in embarrassment. “Sorry if I trash the place sometimes.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Edd assures, looking around with fascination in his eyes. He moves into an open room, finding it empty. This must be the room for lease. “Hey, is this the extra bedroom?”

“Which one are you in?” Matt walks over to stand beside Edd. “Oh, yes, this is it. You’ll have to furnish it yourself, but I hear that Tom next door is getting rid of his old bed. Maybe you can ask him for it if you move in.”

“That sounds awesome,” Edd agrees, leaving the room in peace. If he moves in, he’s gonna see if Matt will let him paint the walls of the bedroom green. “Anything else I should see?”

“You can look around the kitchen and bathroom if you want. My bedroom is off-limits unless you move in,” Matt explains, showing Edd into the kitchen. “There isn’t much to work with in here. I’m not much of a cook, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now.”

Edd raises an eyebrow at that. Why would he assume that Matt wasn’t good at cooking? After all, Matt appears to be in really good health (besides his pale skin), so wouldn’t Edd figure him to cook his own meals? “Well… I can cook,” Edd offers, after a moment of awkward silence. “I think my mum will give me some kitchen equipment when I move out…”

Matt smiles at that, but now he seems to be… eyeing Edd, like he’s not so sure who he’s talking to anymore. Maybe he was just expecting someone different, Edd thinks, once again brushing off Matt’s strangeness. Edd looks around, smiling to himself. “Yeah… I think this might be it,” He confirms, grinning at Matt. “I do have a cat. Is that okay? He’s super friendly, so he shouldn’t bother you.”

“That’s fine, so long as it’s not a dog. The lads downstairs can’t stand dogs…” Matt shivers, as if remembering something horrible, before he composes himself and shakes Edd’s hand again, skin still freezing to the touch. “I look forward to living with you, Edd.”

Edd nods, and for the next two hours they converse about their own lives. Matt isn’t a photographer after all, Edd learns, and isn’t even really interested in the art. Matt, apparently, is a nurse who works night shifts at a local hospital. That surprises Edd (guy just didn’t look the type to have a medical degree), but he doesn’t think much of it. After a while, Edd makes to leave, promising Matt that he’ll warn his folks and move in with him by next week. Just as he’s leaving the apartment, Edd bumps into one of Matt’s neighbors. The guy is much shorter than Edd, almost embarrassingly so, but that’s not what catches Edd’s attention. No, it’s the guy’s pitch black eyes. There’s no white in them at all- just pure blankness.

“Sup,” The guy greets, looking very tired as he takes a swig from a flask in his hand. Edd scrunches up his face at the sight- great, he’s got an alcoholic for a new neighbor. “You must be the guy Matt was saying was checking out his place… I’m Tom,” He doesn’t offer his hand or anything, his black as night eyes locked onto Edd’s face. “... See ya.” He mutters after a moment, leaving Edd alone as he walks into the apartment next door to Matt’s.

Strange. Edd stares at Tom’s apartment door for a good few minutes before walking away, feeling like he’s just seen a ghost or something. No matter, though. Matt is nice and Edd doesn’t have to pay much for rent. And he even gets to bring along Ringo! Edd whistles to himself again in the elevator as he leaves, feeling like this really is a good decision on his part.

…

Edd moves in the next Friday, Matt coming outside to his car to help him unload. Despite the sudden heatwave, Matt is wearing long sleeves and gloves, leaving no skin uncovered except for his face. He keeps an umbrella over his head the whole time while outside, though there hasn’t been a single cloud in the sky all day. Maybe he sunburns real easy, Edd thinks. That’s not the only thing that throws Edd off, though. Ringo doesn’t like Matt one bit, hissing and clawing viciously at the taller man. It’s quite surprising, considering the fact that Ringo is the most mild tempered cat that Edd’s ever known. Perhaps the move was getting to Ringo, or perhaps he still smells a bit like his old pet dog? (He mentioned an issue with dogs earlier, but Matt never specified who in the complex owned it).

The neighbor Edd met during his last visit to the new apartment- his name is Thomas Redwood, according to Matt- watches Matt and Edd work the entire time, walking with them while they move stuff from Edd’s trunk all the way into his new room. He doesn’t offer any help, nor does he say anything; he just follows Edd and Matt around while he drinks from his flask. It’s a little creepy, in Edd’s opinion, but whatever. He’s probably just curious of his new neighbor… and maybe a bit drunk, but that’s still up for debate. At least Matt keeps up a friendly conversation until they’re all done.

Once everything is inside, Edd, Matt, and Tom all sit down in the apartment’s living room, Matt turning on the TV while they relax after all the heavy lifting. “So, Tom, how about you tell Edd here what you do for a living?” Matt suggests, eyes trained on Tom.

At first, Edd doesn’t think Tom will say anything, but the brunet soon sets his flask aside and shrugs at Matt, throwing his arms behind his head as he leans back into the couch. “I’m into music, I mostly just write, but I own a bass.” Tom offers up, eyes never leaving Edd. “What’s your job, huh? You a magician?”

“Cartoonist,” Edd explains, smiling. He tries and succeeds in hiding his confusion from Tom; why on Earth would he think Edd would be a magician anyhow? “It’s my dream job.”

“Pretty weird job for a- what’s with the cat!?” Tom jumps at the sight of Ringo, entire body tensing due to the feline’s presence.

“Who, Ringo?” Edd asks, scooping Ringo up from off the floor, holding the kitty out to Tom. “You can pet him if you want; he’s really quite friendly.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s real nice to you… not sure if he’d like me...” Tom grumbles, but he settles after a moment, though his eyes never stop staring at Ringo, who stares right back at him.

“At least it’s not a dog...” Matt offers, and that makes Tom close his eyes and nod in complete agreement. Edd raises an eyebrow at this. So Tom knows about the dog thing, too. Does everyone in this building have some sort of secret society or something? Edd shushes that thought- of course not, he’s just new around here, that’s all!

After a few hours of watching movies and chitchatting, Tom leaves, not even bothering to say goodbye on the way out. By that time, Edd and Matt have moved into the kitchen, Matt heating up some pizza for Edd while his new roommate leans on the kitchen’s countertop. Edd watches Tom leave before he looks to Matt, appearing concerned. “Is that Tom fellow alright?” He asks, genuinely concerned for his new neighbor. “He seems… out of it.”

“Who Tom? Yeah, he’s just like that,” Matt explains, waving off Tom’s behavior as a normal occurrence. “You should listen in when Tord is home; the two of them will scream at each other for hours. He’s not so calm and collected then, no sir.”

“Tord? Isn’t that the guy you mentioned who helped you clean your apartment last week?” Edd questions, scratching his scalp as he tries to remember who’s who in the complex.

Matt snaps his fingers, grinning. “Yeah, that’s him! Gosh, Tord’s a quirky one! You might not see him much; he’s usually out for his job or looking around for spare parts for his gadgets. He fixed the doorbell, just so you know!” He gestures to the door to confirm this.

“I see,” Edd replies, eyes on the door. It looks like an ordinary door to him; doesn’t even look like anyone has dented it before. “So he fixes stuff around the building? That must be handy.”

“Oh no no no!” Matt exclaims with a laughing grin. “He doesn’t fix everything! Heck, he only fixed the doorbell because every time it rang, it gave Tom a bloody headache!”

“How long have they been living here, if you don’t mind me asking?” Edd doesn’t mean to press for so much gossip, but he’s curious about his new neighbors.

Matt scrunches up his face in thought, concentrating. “Not sure, really. They moved in three, maybe four years ago? It was before Tom had his accident…”

“Accident? Is he okay?” Edd asks, concerned even more now for Tom. Did something really bad happen to him? Perhaps it’s the reason why Tom’s eyes are black.

Matt goes quiet, refusing to meet Edd’s eyes. “Um… ya know, I really ought to not gossip... why not ask Tord, if you ever see him? He knows all about that nonsense… oh, look, your pizza’s done!” He’s clearly trying to get off topic, focusing on getting Edd’s dinner ready for him. “Dinner is served, new roommate!”

Edd chuckles under his breath as Matt makes a big deal out of presenting his plate to him. It sounds like whatever happened to Tom was- is- pretty serious. Oh well. Like Matt said; if Edd ever meets this ‘Tord’ character in person, he can ask him what’s going on himself.

…

He gets his chance two weeks later.

Edd is starting to really like living here. Matt is a pretty sweet roommate- yeah, he’s messy, but Edd’s dealt with way worse- and he makes for a comforting conversation maker. Tom is also pretty cool, but he’s also… strange. He grabs his own head a lot, when he thinks that Edd isn’t looking, and he still hasn’t offered up a proper explanation for his black eyes. Because of this, Edd is still greatly concerned for Tom’s well being. He sort of wonders why no one else is talking about this- perhaps everyone else here is used to it by now. Well, Edd is still concerned, and he figures that finding answers is better than doing nothing at all.

So he starts loitering in the lobby, watching people come and go. During this time, Edd draws comics and people-watches, finding out that just about everyone in this apartment complex acts a little oddly. After a few days, he memorizes the morning schedule; Mark from the thirteenth floor leaves for his job at around six AM, which is when Matt gets home from work; Patryk and Paul from Edd and Matt’s floor come back to the complex at around seven AM, and from then on there isn’t much else that occurs other than the mailman coming and delivering mail. Edd figures out, after a few mornings of no activity, that the apartment building is most active at night.

That’s when everyone’s up, and the lobby is bustling with life. Edd manages to find himself a seat most nights while scanning the crowd, trying to find this Tord character. Based off a few thrown out comments from both Matt and Tom, Tord has spiked up brown hair (Sort of like Tom’s) and primarily wears a red hoodie. It doesn’t take much longer after that until Edd finally meets Tord. He runs into him at around two in the morning, during one of Edd’s people watches. He recognizes him right away, unable to miss his spiked up brown hair and… are those horns poking out of his head, or is that gelled up hair? Probably hair, Edd thinks.

“Uh, hey,” Edd greets, approaching Tord with a certain level of caution. There’s just something unsettling about the stranger to Edd. “My name is Edward Gold, and I just moved in with Matt on the fourteenth floor. You can just call me Edd. It’s nice to meet you!” He tries to act as friendly as possible, holding his hand out to Tord for him to shake in greeting.

Tord looks Edd over, eyeing him warily. His eyes are candy red, something that puts Edd a little off, and his canines, at least at this angle, look awfully sharp. “Hey,” Tord says it with a sly smile, licking one of his teeth lazily as he reaches out and grabs ahold of Edd’s hand, shaking it in a tight grip. “I’m Tord… so you’re the wizard Tom mentioned?” He regards Edd’s appearance for a moment and his mouth quirks up even more. “Interesting.”

Edd pulls his hand away, giving Tord an absolutely baffled look. “Wizard- I’m sorry, but, what?” Wizard? They literally just met, what is he going on about?

“Oh… I get it,” Tord assures, narrowing his eyes at Edd. “Do you really not get it yet, knucklehead? You really are stupid,” He chuckles, smirking again at Edd. “Tom was right… you haven’t hit your potential yet. Not that he understands what that means any better than you do, my friend.” He starts to walk away.

“Wait, what the bloody Hell are you talking about?” Edd questions, running after Tord up the stairs. “What potential?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Tord promises, before he turns on his heel and stares deeply into Edd’s eyes, making the cartoonist shiver with dread. “And also… stop bugging Matt about my roommate’s eyes. You wouldn’t understand, even if I told you.” With that, he heads up the staircase, and when Edd follows him and turns the corner, he’s gone.

“... Now that’s just freaky,” Edd decides, flabbergasted by what he’s just gone through. “Something really weird is going on in this place…”

…

Edd hears from Tord the next day- well, he hears him shouting through the wall. When Edd gives Matt a concerned look, the ginger just shrugs and disappears into his bedroom with a glass of what Edd assumes to be some form of red fruit juice. It’s not much longer before Edd hears the door to Tom and Tord’s apartment open and then slam closed. Before Edd can even react, the front door to his own apartment swings open, and there stands Tom in the doorway. The fellow brunet looks worn out, and there are dark bags under his eyes. He rubs his head with one hand while he uses the other to hold his flask, taking small sips from it as he does so.

“Heya, Edd,” Tom greets, voice tired and groggy. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much… are you okay, Tom?” Edd asks, watching as Ringo enters the room to greet Tom, purring loudly as he rubs himself against Tom’s legs. “What was all that about?”

“Stupid Tord.” Tom explains, not bothering to specify what exactly he and Tord had been fighting about beforehand.

Edd considers Tom for a moment, brow furrowing as he looks him over. “... You know, if anything bad is going on, you can let me know.” He promises, fearing the worst. Tord hadn’t seemed too bad (despite being jeering and cryptic), but… well, anyone can be a bad guy under the surface, right?

Tom’s eyes widen at that, before he cracks a smile and actually laughs. “Wait, do you seriously think Tord is… I’m fine, Edd,” He says the last part with a great fatigue in his voice, before he yawns, tired. “I’m just… sick. It’s nothing you can catch.”

Edd softens at that, a deep understanding filling his chest with warmth. “No, I get it, Tom… when I was a kid, I got leukemia, and I was tired all the time. I understand being sick… I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“Hey,” Tom says, and Edd looks up, surprised by Tom’s sudden smile. “You’re not bothering me, Edd… you’re a good guy.” He relaxes into one of the living room’s armchairs, passing out instantly, too tired to stay awake any longer.

Edd smiles halfheartedly, putting a throw blanket over Tom before retreating back to his own room. He’ll warn Matt on the way to his room about Tom; the poor kid could use the rest.

…

Edd wakes with a start eight hours later, covered in sweat. He sits up, looking around his room to find the source of his fear. He slowly creeps out of bed, bringing his cat Ringo with him as he tiptoes into the living room. He goes still as he hears a thump, and instinctively gets down towards the ground, keeping himself low, in-case the noise is being caused by an intruder. Slowly, Edd continues into the living room, lingering in the doorway as he looks around. Tom is still asleep in the armchair, but now Tord is here (How he got in to begin with, Edd has no idea). Tord stands almost ominously over Tom, before he runs a hand through the smaller man’s hair.

Edd smiles at that. Poor Tom and Tord; with Tom’s apparent sickness, it must be a very stressful living arrangement, what with all of the pains of his disease plaguing Tom day and night. Carefully, Tord stops petting Tom’s hair and, ever so gently, he scoops Tom up from under his legs and under his upper back, holding the smaller man bridal style. Tom murmurs something nonsensical in his sleep, but otherwise he doesn’t stir, still weak from whatever he’s dealing with. Forgetting that he’s supposed to be hiding, Edd stands, and immediately Tord jumps back, Tom in tow, angling Tom to be as far away from Edd as possible.

“Easy, Tord,” Edd urges, giving him a sympathetic smile. “He just came here to crash for the night… Tom’s fine.” He’s actually not sure if Tom is 100% okay, but hey, whatever calms Tord down, the better.

Tord considers Edd, blood red eyes squinted into thin slits as he glares at the man, not seeming to trust him. After a moment, Tord nods in acceptance, before heading to the front door. Edd steps forward slowly, opening it for Tord so that he can leave without waking Tom. Tord says nothing in response to this; he just leaves the apartment and, after adjusting Tom in his arms, he steps into his and Tom’s apartment. Edd watches the door shut behind them and, after much consideration, Edd closes his own door and goes back to bed. So, Tord and Tom are a couple, are they? Good for them, Edd thinks, happy to know that at least someone is able to look out for Tom.

…

A few days later, Edd and Matt are invited to Tom and Tord’s place to watch movies. Edd’s extremely excited to go, while Matt keeps acting… peculiar. Edd figures that Matt is just sick or something and doesn’t want Tom and Tord to catch it, especially considering how sick Tom is. In the end though, Matt agrees to go to their apartment, albeit he’s still nervous beyond measure. When they arrive, the first thing Edd notices is the smell. The front door to the apartment and the general area around it smells like cigarette smoke, pineapples, and something that Edd might associate with the ocean.

Matt’s the one to knock on the door, giving Edd a wink before Tord answers the door. “Hey, Tord!” Matt greets, waving at the Norwegian. “You ready for movie night?”

Tord shrugs nonchalantly, eyes trained on Edd. “... Come in,” He offers, after a long moment of looking Edd over. “Sorry for the wait, gentlemen. Tom has been feeling especially off, you know?”

“Headaches again?” Matt asks, and when Tord nods, the ginger winces in sympathy. “Poor lad, seems like Tom never gets a break from those.”

With a shrug in response from Tord, both Matt and Edd walk into the apartment, looking around curiously at everything. Tord and Tom’s apartment isn’t much different build-wise than Matt and Edd’s, but theirs is differently decorated. Halloween decorations are still up, as if Tom and Tord simply skipped Christmas and the holidays of spring. The furniture is also very different, it appearing more worn and modern than the stuff back home. Tom’s sprawled out on the couch when Edd enters, panting like a dog on the sofa as he groans, using a pillow to cover his head and face while he struggles to ignore the throbbing pain in his skull.

“Ey, Edd and Matt are here,” Tord warns, giving Tom a light tap on the foot to alert the other brunet of his presence. “You up for watching the movie, friend?”

“Ugh…” Tom moans, rolling over to lie on his side. After a minute, he stirs again, pulling off the pillow to squint at Edd and Matt, an almost predatory look in his- wait, are Tom’s eyes starting to move closer to each other? Just when Edd starts to think they are, Tom blinks, shaking his head frantically to rid himself of the headache. “I’m up,” He says a second later, though he still doesn’t look so good health-wise. “Just give me a minute here…”

“Take your time, buddy,” Tord urges, before flashing a smile at Matt and Edd. “You hungry, Edd? I’m guessing Matty here already ate…” He laughs, as if it’s an inside joke, and winks at Matt, who freezes up in either shock or discomfort. “Come come, we have much food that you are free to eat, so long as you don’t mind meat.”

Tord leads Edd and Matt into the kitchen, giving Tom some time to himself to recover from his migraine. Edd lingers, continuously giving Tom concerned looks, but one nod from Tord convinces him to leave the poor kid be. Once in the kitchen, Edd and Matt each seat themselves in stools in front of the counter, watching Tord as he pulls a large bag of jerky down from on top of the refrigerator, setting it down to rest in front of Edd. Hesitantly, Edd reaches his hand into the bag and grabs a few pieces of jerky, nibbling on them dumbly as he listens to Matt and Tord chat about the going-ons in their lives.

“Are Paul and Patryk back from their trip to Canada yet?” Matt asks Tord, leaning onto the counter in an almost tired manner. “They were talking about doing that a little while back…”

Tord nods. “Yes, they just got back a few nights ago,” Tord explains, smirking all the while. “They were able to be up north during the full moon… they sent me many postcards, yes.”

Matt smiles brightly in agreement. “How exciting! And how are they now? Still loitering in your and Tom’s place?”

Tord laughs outright, even though Edd doesn’t think Matt said anything funny. Maybe it’s an inside joke or something, Edd thinks. “Naw, they don’t come around as often as one might believe; poor Tommy is still mad about what happened to his dog!”

Both Matt and Tord laugh now, and it just confuses Edd even more. What is going on with this dog story that everyone seems to know about!? “Hey, I have plenty reason to be pissed,” Tom shouts angrily from the living room, still lying down on the couch, though he appears a bit better now. “They chased my freaking dog out with all their-” He stops himself, eyes widening as he looks at Edd, as if only just remembering that he’s over, too. “... I’m still mad at them.” Is all he adds, not saying anything more as he looks away from Edd, a strawberry colored blush covering his cheeks.

“Well, it seems like Mr. Grumpy Pants is feeling better now,” Tord comments, turning his attention to both Matt and Edd. “So, you’re ready to watch this movie, yes?”

…

During the movie, Edd feels Matt put a hand on his knee, squeezing it once as they watch the horror film. Matt doesn’t go for more, but he doesn’t pull away either. Edd leans back into the couch, letting the darkness of the room hide his smile from Matt and the others.

…

“Edd,” Matt says the cartoonist’s name casually as he rolls more green paint on the wall. The two roommates have been painting Edd’s room green for the last couple hours, leisurely taking their time to cover all the walls. Matt sets his hand on his hip, paint roller in one hand and eyes on Edd. “Can I ask you something weird?”

Edd blinks, looking up from the new can of paint he’s been trying to crack open. “Uh, sure. What’s up Matt?”

“It’s just… Do you believe in the supernatural?” Matt questions, a slight glimmer in his eyes at the thought of such things.

“What, like, ghosts and stuff?” Edd questions, giving up on opening the can and sliding it over to his friend. “I mean, I guess so? I’ve always been an optimist. My gran-gran used to go on about that kind of thing when I was little,” He chuckled at the memories. “She made up all these stories about wizards, magic, and the things that go bump in the night.”

Matt looks at him oddly, as though he said something that made a lot of sense to the taller man. “So it is hereditary…” He mumbles just loud enough that Edd can barely make out the words.

Edd quirks his brow in confusion, but before he can say anything, Matt leans down and pops the stubborn lid off the paint can effortlessly. “Thanks!” The brunet pours it out on the paint tray between them, getting a fair amount onto his roller.

The redhead hums, also getting back to painting. “This really is a good color for you, Edd,” He says, making sure to focus on his work as he speaks. “It really compliments your eyes. 

Edd tries not to show his slight blush.

…

“Hey, Edd, you got a second?” Matt asks, poking his head into Edd’s room. “I need you to do me a favor.”

Edd squints his eyes open at Matt, having been listening to music in bed before Matt interrupted. “For the last time, Matt, I don’t care how much you hate doing it, I’m not doing the bloody dishes this time!”

Matt blushes, looking away at that. “Oh, no no no! It’s nothing like that… can you maybe go with Tom when he goes shopping today? Tord would normally do it, but he’s busy visiting some old friends in Hel- er, I mean, out of town!” He mumbles the last part, as if he’s slipped up and said something he isn’t supposed to.

“Wait… why does Tom need someone to go shopping with him?” Edd questions, confusion written on his face as Ringo licks it clean, the cartoonist squirming at the feeling of the cat’s scratchy tongue on his cheek.

Matt chuckles at Edd’s squirming, before composing himself. “Tom has… ‘issues’,” He wrings his hands as he says this, troubled by the looks of it. “He can’t go out in public by himself. Like I said, usually Tord goes, but he can’t today, and I’ve got work to do here. Do you think you can go with him to the store? It should only take an hour or two at the most…”

Edd hums to himself, before nodding his head in acceptance. “Sure,” He agrees, picking up Ringo so he can sit up and get some socks on. “Just give me a few minutes to get my shoes on.”

“Good,” Matt sighs it out, like Edd is lifting a weight from his shoulders. “You’re the best, Edd. I’ll go let Tom know you’re gonna take him.” He then leaves, allowing Edd to get dressed.

Edd dresses quickly, throwing on one of his favorite green hoodies and his shoes before he leaves the room. He gives Ringo a pet goodbye before he leaves the apartment, the cat having followed him all the way to the front door. When Edd steps outside, he’s immediately greeted by the sight of Matt setting his hand on Tom’s shoulder, as if steadying him. Tom, for once in his life, is without his flask, this time holding a water bottle with some type of green, icky substance inside. He keeps taking sips from it, almost sucking on the mouthpiece of the bottle. Perhaps he has an oral fixation? Edd wouldn’t put it past him.

“Sup,” Tom greets, giving Edd a half-assed wave as he just stands there, appearing to be bored out of his skull. “So you’re babysitting me or whatever? I don’t play well with others…” He smirks, internally laughing at his own joke, before he composes himself. “But seriously, don’t treat me like a kid, got it? I’m a fully grown man.”

“You two have fun, and be careful!” Matt orders. Just as Edd and Tom start to walk away, Matt stops them, holding out an EpiPen to Edd. “Here; just in-case Tom has an… ‘allergic’ reaction.” He may as well be making air quotations when he says the word ‘allergic’.

“Allergic reaction? What’s Tom allergic to?” Edd figures that it must be a common allergy, like peanuts or bees.

“Um… nuclear radiation?” Matt offers, and Edd hears Tom facepalm behind him, groaning, as if Matt has just said the dumbest thing imaginable.

Edd raises an eyebrow, giving Matt an unconvinced look. “Isn’t everyone kinda allergic to radiation? It’s… sorta deadly.”

Matt shrugs, visibly sweating. “Well, um, uh, Tom’s just MORE allergic than most people!” He explains, slowly backing up into his and Edd’s apartment. “Youtwohavefunbye!” His words are a garbled mess as he slams the door on Edd and Tom, not giving either of them time to further question Matt’s reasoning for the EpiPen.

Slowly, Edd pockets the Pen. Better safe than sorry, and all that. He then smiles at Tom, making the other brunet glare at him in spite. “Ready to go?” Edd asks, tone hopeful.

Tom rolls his eyes- or at least, he seems to- and nods, though he doesn’t look too happy about it. “Yeah, whatever… let’s get this over with.” With that, he leads the way to the elevator and out of the building, Edd right beside him the entire time.

…

The shopping gets done quickly, though Edd notices that Tom is on edge the whole time, practically burying his face in his hoodie in an attempt to hide from people’s staring eyes, all of them double-taking at Tom’s pitch black eyes. Edd understands that sort of discomfort; when he’d had leukemia, people had stared endlessly at his bald head, to the point that Edd had hidden himself from society for the most part during his treatments. Maybe that’s why Tom needs an escort for something as simple as going to the grocery store? It makes Edd feel even worse for Tom, but he doesn’t voice it; he obviously detests pity.

On the walk home, Tom practically drags Edd into a pet store, not saying a word as he forces the fellow brunet inside. Taking responsibility, Edd takes the lead once they’re inside, hoping to just buy some cat food for Ringo and then leave. It’s not that he doesn’t like pet stores, it’s just that if he stays and happens to go near the rescued pets section, he’s going to end up going home with twenty more cats. It’s not until Edd’s found the cat food that Ringo likes that he realizes that Tom is gone. Edd looks up and down the aisle frantically, trying to find the spiky haired punk, but it’s no use. Tom’s vanished.

Edd can already feel himself panicking- Tord will destroy him, Tom will have an allergic reaction and die, and Matt… well, he’ll probably be mad, too, but not nearly as mad as Tord will be. Getting himself together as best he can, Edd dashes through the store’s aisles, desperate to find Tom, but he’s nowhere to be found. Desperate, Edd searches the rescued animal shelter at the back of the store, hoping that Tom might be in there. As if by magic, Edd finds Tom in the cat section of the miniature shelter, poking his fingers through the cage at a group of small kittens that can’t be more than ten weeks old.

The cartoonist watches with great interest, leaning on the doorway as he observes. Edd has never, in the one and a half months he’s been living with Matt, seen Tom look so positively happy. Tom grins without timidness at the felines, reaching his bony hand through the bars to pet at one of the kittens. The cat mews, and Tom practically melts at the noise, giggling under his breath as the kitten attacks his hand, not seeming to mind as the cat digs it’s tiny fangs into his palm. Edd smiles at the sight, letting out a loose laugh. Unfortunately, Tom hears him. Flinching hard, Tom yanks his hand out of the cage, turning to Edd with a surprised look on his face.

“H-Hey, Edd!” Tom says, and now Edd can see how off-kilter he is to be caught in this position, to be seen acting so positively joyful. “W-We should be heading back home, huh?”

Edd feels tempted to bring up what Tom was doing before, but out courtesy, he resists. Instead, he gives Tom a simple nod and offers him his hand to help him get up. Tom considers Edd’s hand, before giving him a half-smile and shaking his head ‘no’. Out of respect, Edd nods back and puts his hand in his hoodie pocket. They don’t say anything to each other on the way home, but despite this… Edd has a feeling that Tom is living a facade. He’s not nearly as open as Matt or Edd, but then again, he has a guy like Tord for a roommate and very likely for a boyfriend. Edd supposes that he can’t blame the poor kid for being soleum.

Tom is silent all the way home, yet Edd feels and hears an odd, vibration-like sound emitting from where Tom’s walking, it being something akin to a cat’s purr. Weird, Edd thinks. He hadn’t seen any motorcycles on the way home…

It’s probably just another weird coincidence… right?

...

“So how was shopping with Tom?” Matt asks that night, sitting on one of the kitchen stools while Edd cooks himself and Matt dinner. “Was he alright?”

Edd nods, smiling at Matt. “Oh yeah. Tom and I had a great time,” He explains, stirring gravy into chunks of steak in a pot. “He was really quiet when we started, but he warmed up to me once we reached the end… makes me wonder how he’s any different from anyone else.”

Matt sighs, nodding in defeat at this. “It’s not easy for him, Edd. Heck, I’m surprised he even said a word to you! Poor lad suffers from… er…” He tries to find the words, looking anywhere but at Edd. “He has a panic disorder,” He finally decides, hoping that Edd will believe him. “I’m not entirely sure how bad it is, but he can go noncommutative sometimes.”

 

“That’s awful… was it trauma induced?” Edd doesn’t want to believe that it’s trauma, but in all honesty, there’s a good chance it could be.”

“I’d… rather not say,” Matt admits, appearing sheepish in front of Edd. “Hey, how’s dinner going?”

“What? Oh, crap!” Edd panics as he tries to save the gravy, stirring it quickly. He winces at the encrusted, burnt material at the bottom of the pot. “Dammit… dishes are gonna be brutal… sorry, Matt.” He gives Matt a nervous look out of embarrassment.

“Oh, nothing a little soap and water won’t fix!” Matt promises, waving off Edd’s worry in a nonchalant fashion. “Don’t trouble yourself about it, Edd. Accidents happen.” He smiles comfortingly at Edd, willing his sadness away.

Something in Matt’s eyes seem to flicker, and just as Edd feels himself relaxing, Ringo hops onto the counter in-between them and glares at Matt, hissing in a low tone as the feline rubs himself against Edd. Edd sighs, turning off the stove as he finishes while simultaneously scooping up Ringo and setting him on the floor. Ringo objects greatly to this, but after a small smile from Edd, the cat settles for just eavesdropping on the couch, watching Matt with a predatory look in his eyes. Matt and Edd quickly set the counter up for dinner, and sitting across from each other, they dig in.

“I hope you don’t mind steak and gravy,” Edd says, chowing down like his life depends on it. His mom has always said that he’s a messy eater. “It’s my gran-gran’s recipe!”

“Slow down, Edd! You’re going to choke,” Matt warns, but he’s laughing anyway, which is kinda weird in Edd’s opinion. Usually people take their food elsewhere or tell him to keep quiet until he’s finished, but Matt… he doesn’t even seem too bothered by Edd’s eating habits. “It’s not like the food won’t be there in a few minutes… I’d rather NOT call the police about my roommate choking on his meal just because he was too impatient to wait.”

Edd laughs- thankfully without food in his mouth- and grins unabashedly at Matt. “It’s not my fault that I’m so hungry!”

“Um, yes, actually, it is,” Matt corrects, smirking triumphantly at Edd when he looks away, embarrassed again. “You need to remember to eat more when you’re drawing your comics out, Edd. We can’t have you starving yourself, now can we?”

“I suppose we can’t,” Edd agrees, finishing off his dinner quickly. He refrains from licking the plate, if only to avoid testing Matt’s patience. “Movie? Maybe even Tord and Tom can join in!”

Matt grins, nodding his head in agreement. “Sure. That sounds wonderful.”

…

“Matt, your room is a bloody mess!” Edd complains, tripping over yet another one of the ginger’s random knickknacks. “I swear, my mother would throw a fit if she saw this place! You’re lucky she doesn’t like this building…”

“I’ll do it later!” Matt whines, not even looking up from his magazine.

Edd groans, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Whatever. But I swear to Christ, if I step on a Lego in here, not even Tord will find the body.”

…

“Hey, Edd?” Matt asks, a few nights later. He’s not meeting Edd’s eyes.

“Yeah?” Edd looks up from his phone while sprawled out on his bed, confused.

Matt starts to turn away, ducking his head in embarrassment, although, Edd has no idea what he’s embarrassed about. “Oh, um, nothing. Never mind.”

...

A few days later, Edd finds himself lounging on the sofa, feet and head propped up on its arms. Ringo’s in his lap, and his eyes are focused on the TV. He’s busy channel surfing, trying to find something to watch until Matt gets home so that the two of them can eat breakfast together.

"Ughhhh," Edd groans in exasperation at the garbage on TV. The most interesting thing on right now are the bloody commercials. Edd relents after some time to just turning the damned thing off. With nothing else to do, he focuses his attention on petting his cat. Ringo purrs happily at the attention, tilting his head into Edd's palms.

The two sit like that for quite some time, until a few rapid knocks sound from the apartment door. Ringo hisses in anger and launches off Edd's lap ("Ow, Ringo, _why??_ ") and starts tearing around the apartment like a wild animal. Edd begins to rise from his spot on the couch, but before he can haul himself up, the door opens on its own, Tord standing proud as ever in the doorway.

"Edd, how good it is to see you!" The tall Norwegian laughs as he lets himself in. "Didn't expect to see you awake this early."

The cartoonist goes to stand up, eyes fixed on the open door, but Tord slumps himself over the couch, legs across Edd's lap, blocking him from standing. He glares at Tord out of the corner of his eye, eyebrows raised as if saying 'really?'.

Tord acts surprised at the look Edd is throwing at him. "My friend, what is such a look for?" He glances to the gaping doorway. "Oh, _pfft_ , you're upset I didn't close the door on my way in?” The way he talks, it makes him sound like he's talking to a child. “Don't worry, things like this have a way of fixing themselves around here."

As soon as Edd glances away from the door to shoot Tord a confused look, it slams shut, making Edd jump. Tord laughs obnoxiously, kicking his feet as he does so (which hits Edd, and again, _ow_ ).

“Can I ask why you're here?” Edd grumbles, attempting to shift Tord's feet off his legs, but the taller man uses his leverage to hold them in place. Edd huffs.

“Matt's coming home from work soon, right? He was supposed to look into something for me at the clinic, and I need to make sure he's taking care of it.” Tord lets out a long, exaggerated sigh.

Edd gives up trying to remove the bony legs on top of him, instead deciding to put his elbow on Tord's knee and use his arm to prop up his head. “Is everything okay?”

Tord chuckles and wiggles his knee, making Edd's head fall (“Stop bullying, you jerk!”) before replying. “Ehh, Tom's meds might not be working as well as they ought to be, but it's nothing to worry about.”

Despite saying there's no need to worry, Edd can't help but crease his brow with concern. He was always told he was a chronic worrier growing up, always putting friends ahead of himself. Tord must notice the distressed expression, because he tuts.

“What did I literally just say, eh?” He studies the cartoonist's face for a moment. “You look tired, did you even go to sleep today?”

“Well...” Edd leaves it at that. He hadn't slept in quite a while, now that he thinks about it, but not because of anything bad! He began a bit of work on his latest job when Matt headed out to work, and by the time he looked up it was almost time for Matt to come back home, so he just didn't see a point in going to bed (ignoring that the previous night, he pretty much did the same thing, and has gotten less than six hours in three days).

Tord tuts again. “You look like you haven't slept in years,” Edd just shrugs, but Tord shakes his head back. "I can see the bags under your eyes from here. Edd, buddy, you have to _relax_ ," Tord leans back into the couch, waving his arm about as he speaks. "Humans need their sleep, so just take it easy for a few hours."

As Tord speaks, Edd swears he sees his eyes glow a bright red. It sends a wave of uneasiness down his back, but with each word Tord says, Edd's fatigue weighs down his whole body, making him feel like he's sinking into the cushions. Tired, he lets his head hit the back of the couch, and he begins to fall asleep.

At that moment, though, Ringo meows loudly, causing Edd to snap his head forward with a start. “Ah, Sorry, I almost fell asleep there.” He shoots Tord a sheepish look.

Tord glares at Ringo. “Don't stress it.”

Edd nods, looking confused between the cat and the Norwegian man. "I guess I forgot to feed Ringo earlier.” He excuses himself and Tord pulls his legs away, tucking them into his hoodie.

The cartoonist returns after filling his pet's bowl, only to find Ringo in his seat, Tord scowling at him fiercely. The cartoonist laughs, picks up the cat, and sits back down with Ringo in his lap. The three sit together like that for all of two minutes before Tord gets antsy, fidgeting on his end of the couch. "What kind of cat is that?" He demands, red eyes never leaving the feline.

"Uh," Edd looks hard at Ringo for a second before shrugging. "Not sure, actually; he was given to me by my gran-gran.” He strokes his cat's chin and a few moments pass before Tord speaks up again.

“Why are you even up this early anyway?” Tord questions, standing up after pulling his legs out of his hoodie and walking over to the fridge to help himself to a cola. He sits back down on the couch by kind of just falling back onto it, bouncing for a moment, and then cracking the can open after he's settled.

Edd shrugs, averting the Norwegian's gaze. “I mean, I’m usually up this early? Matt and I always eat breakfast together.” Tord’s eyes light up at this.

“Matt actually _eats_ with you?” He smirks at the thought. “Sorry, that just strikes me as a little odd! He’s never really been a, ah, food kind of guy, you see.” Tord laughs at some kind of private joke. Not a food kind of guy? Edd’s eyebrows come together in confusion.

“Do you mean he normally, like,” No, he still has no idea. Edd is sure he’s the picture of perplexed, especially since Tord just keeps laughing. Edd blushes, embarrassed at what is probably an obvious answer. “Does he just, like, drink protein shakes?”

Tord lets out an ugly snort as he takes a sip from his coke. “Yeah, you could say that he’s on an ‘all liquid diet,’” He grins devilishly as he makes air quotations at Edd, further confusing the cartoonist. “He still eats regular food sometimes, but it doesn't do much for him like his drinks do.”

Edd gives the man on the other end of the couch a sidelong glance before avoiding his look by giving Ringo some more attention. What did Tord even mean by what he was saying? Matt did say that Tord is a quirky guy, but every time Edd talks to him he ends up feeling weirded out. The wizard thing when they first met, how he talks about Tom's ailment, and now Matt's diet... It could just be Tord trying to get a rise out of him, since he is definitely the kind of guy who pokes fun at others. Although... he glances at Tord, who stares back at him with his too red eyes and smiles.

He can't help but think Tord is somewhat genuine with what he says. All of what he says feels like there's a grain of truth in there somewhere. This just makes Edd even _more_ uneasy. He searches his brain for another topic to talk and think about, hoping to avoid anybody else’s odd habits.

“Hey, uh, Tord?” Edd swallows nervously, his mouth just kind of moving on its own. “Can I ask you something kinda weird?”

The Norwegian narrows his eyes suspiciously. “If you’re gonna ask about how not everyone is allergic to radiation again, friend, I'll murder you.” Tord deadpans, leering at Edd impatiently.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that!” Edd assures, nervous as he plays with the fur at the end of Ringo's tail. “It’s just…” He groans in embarrassment; this topic is hardly better than the last one. “How do you tell if someone likes you?”

Tord’s mouth opens in awe at that, the Cola that had been in his mouth simply dripping out. At least he hadn’t choked on it. He wipes his mouth on his hoodie's sleeve. “Are you asking me if I have a crush on you, Edd?” He asks, voice sly as he grins wickedly at the cartoonist beside him. “How very bold.”

“What? No! I mean, not that you’re not a nice guy, it’s just…” Edd goes red as an apple, causing Tord to cackle like a hyena, entertained by Edd’s self-induced embarrassment. “Look, I’ll just say it outright- do you think that Matt and I could ever be… well, what you and Tom are.”

“You mean two assholes stuck under one roof screaming at each other? I’m surprised you haven’t killed him yet; that Matt is the messiest man I have ever met!” Tord exclaims. Suddenly, though, it seems to click, and he absolutely loses it laughing. “You! You _honestly_ believe that Tom and I are a couple, yes? Friend, you are sadly mistaken! It is true that at one point in time, I did fancy Tom quite a bit, and he indeed fancied me in return, but things became… explosive,” He laughs, but it seems uncomfortable or forced, like the joke isn’t actually very funny. Tord recovers quickly, though, back to his usual smirk. “Ha ha ha! I wish you could have been there, Edd. You would have so very much loved to see Tom so lovey-dovey with me!”

“Wow. So I guess I’ve been wrong for more than a month now…” Edd mutters, amazed. “I just thought you weren’t into PDA… but back to my question, Tord. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Matt and I could be a thing? Like, a couple?”

After Tord calms down from his laughter, he looks Edd over, taking in everything about him. He smiles then, a mirthful look in his eyes. “I think you two could work. You are both fairly kind ‘people’,” He says ‘people’ with so much sarcasm that Edd just straight up ignores him. “I suppose if you asked, he would say yes. Hell, I believe he would drop ‘em right there for you, my friend.”

Edd blushes, looking away. “Yeah, I kinda hope he doesn’t do that…” He pauses though, going even redder at the thought. Tord takes a sip from his coke as he chuckles to himself, Edd's blushing just egging him on further.

Just then, a faint jingling of keys is heard outside, causing Edd to jump and Tord to snort, the Brit turning to pet his cat like he's busy and the Norwegian looking expectantly between the door and the other man on the couch. Edd just hoped with all his might that Tord had the decency to keep quiet about his crush to his crush, but there was only so much hoping could do.

Matt pushes the door open slowly, poking his head in to examine the room before stepping over the threshold. He looks to the two on the couch with surprise. “Oh, good morning Edd and... Tord.”

“Speak of the devil!” Tord proclaims, holding one arm up in greeting to Matt, staring only at Edd’s quickly reddening face as he speaks. “We were just talking about you, Matt, how was work, how was your day?” He smiles toothily with every word.

Despite the look of confusion on his face, Matt still manages to smile brightly. “Er, work was good, thank you.” He walks into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He makes his way to the kitchen, dropping his medical bag on the coffee table as he goes, but stopping at the refrigerator with his cooler bag. He begins putting marked containers and bags in the fridge as he speaks. “What brings you here so early, Tord?”

Tord saunters over to sit on the counter-top when he speaks with Matt, Edd quickly following him to make sure the taller man doesn't say anything to embarrass him more than he already has. “I was hoping you got what I asked you to fetch the other day,” he begins, raising his eyebrows and looking down his nose at Matt's confused expression. “You know, that _thing_ for Tom.”

“Oh!” Matt exclaims, reaching into his bag. It takes him a moment to fish it out, but soon he presents a palm sized, green container, marked with quite a few colorful labels. Tord reaches for it with a grin.

“Thanks so much, Matt!” He pockets the container in his hoodie. “I'm sure this will help Tom out a lot,” He hops off the counter, stretching his arms above his head, sighing as his shoulders pop. “Ahh, but I should be heading home.”

Edd sighs in relief, but Tord smirks and his stomach flips. The taller man gets really close to Edd's ear, as if to whisper, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth from Matt, but he speaks in a voice loud enough for the redhead to hear. “When you’re rubbing one out, keep your voice down, okay friend?” Edd's face flushes bright red as he looks to the floor in embarrassment. “Stupid Tom is already loud enough when I am trying to sleep- I do not need you and Matt to be encouraging him!”

When he finally turns away, he chuckles, slapping Edd's ass as he passes by, causing the cartoonist to yelp in surprise. The Norwegian laughs the whole way to the door, slamming it shut with one final cackle.

Edd is sure he looks like a fucking strawberry at this point, and he kind of wouldn't mind if the floor just decided to swallow him up at this point. He clears his throat. “Ah, sorry, Matt,” He begins. “Tord is just… yeah.”

But when he looks at Matt's face it's not what he expected. He expected disgusted, or uncomfortable, or even laughing at him, but... He almost looks a little... Happy? In a way?? Maybe more like content. It's hard for Edd to tell since as soon as Edd looks into Matt's eyes, the taller man turns away, red faced and smiling nervously.

“It's fine, Edd. I get how Tord can be,” He turns back to the fridge and shifts some things around, making room for the last few containers. “He can get carried away, especially when he thinks something is funny.” Edd nods, though still unsure.

“If what Tord said made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry,” He stammers, looking back at his feet. “I-” But he's cut off by Matt standing up and wrapping his arms around him. His breath catches in his throat and his hands twitch, not knowing where to go. Matt pulls away, but keeps a hand on Edd's shoulder.

“It really is okay, Edd. I've known Tord for a while; he does a lot of stuff just to bug people or egg them on,” He gives his roommate a bright smile, which Edd returns, although more shyly. Matt turns back to finish putting his things away, speaking without looking at Edd. “What were you and Tord talking about, anyway?”

Edd's face gets red again and he stutters, “Uh, we, uh,” Matt turns to look at him with innocent eyes. Edd steadies himself before he speaks. “Not much, honestly. I wasn't aware you were on an all liquid diet; I'm sorry I always insist on making meals you can't eat.”

Matt freezes. “Er,” He swallows, adam's apple bobbing as he does so. “Come again, mate?”

The shorter man's brow creases with confusion. “Tord said that you've been sticking to an all liquid diet with, like, protein shakes or something,” He looks away from Matt, staring at the ground between them in thought. “To be quite fair, he's been fucking with me all morning, so he could have just been pulling my leg or something.”

A small shrug from Matt as he deposits the last bag in the fridge. He turns to face Edd, leaning back on the now stocked refrigerator. “He's not completely wrong, but I can eat other stuff just fine,” He scrunches his nose and shoots a shifty look Edd's way. “So long as there's no garlic in it, I mean.” Edd looks sheepish at the statement.

“I bought some one time,” He laughs, putting his hands comfortably in his hoodie pocket. “I didn't even have the chance to put it in anything before you threw a fit about it.”

Matt huffs, though his smirk exposes his playful mood. “You put it in the fridge!” He exclaims, stepping away from and pointing at the aforementioned object. “The whole thing smelt like that foul plant for weeks, and I could hardly use everything I had in there for my, er,” A small pause before he brings the hand he was pointing with up to scratch the back of his neck. “Protein shakes?” He tries, and Edd shrugs.

“Are you asking me? I don't know what you put in your drinks,” Edd full on laughs, shoulders coming up and down as he does so. He doesn't miss the wholesome grin on Matt's face when he speaks again, “C'mon let's get some breakfast; I'm starving.” He turns away, before looking over his shoulder to add: “Sorry, unless you were planning on just scraping your meal onto the floor for Ringo while you drink some glorified vitamin juice.”

It's Matt's turn to full on laugh, and when Ringo meows at hearing his name, Edd and Matt explode into another fit of giggles.

Maybe Tord was right, Edd thinks with a bit of hope. Maybe he and Matt could work.

…

It’s mid-July in London, and Edd can’t seem to escape the heatwave that’s plaguing the city. The air conditioning in the building is busted- something about the janitor finding a bunch of dead animals in one of the vents? How the heck does that even happen!?- so now everyone and their mothers are dying in the heat. Edd is without his hoodie, sprawled out on the sofa, wearing nothing but a pair of thin boxers and his ‘SMEG HEAD’ T-shirt. Ringo lies beside him on the furniture, panting heavily in the heat. It’s a lazy day today, and Edd can’t bring himself to do anything about it; the sun outside is just too much right now.

Just as Edd feels himself slipping into dreamland, something thin that’s made of paper smacks him square in the face. Usually, Edd would scream and jump in surprise, but he’s too worn out to really react. After a moment of silence, he reaches one hand up and grabs the papers, squinting at them as he pulls them away from his face a bit so he can read them properly. ‘ADMIT ONE ADULT’, they each say in colorful writing, making Edd squint harder in confusion. He finally puts the papers aside, looking up to see Matt leaning over the back of the couch, a wide, almost demented grin on his face. Ringo hisses at Matt, before running off.

“Heya, sleepyhead,” Matt greets, looking unimaginably happy. “How are you doing? The heat getting to you, too?”

“Mph,” Edd groans, holding the papers up to Matt. “What’s with these?” He slurs out, feeling so tired that he’s almost convinced that he’s drunk… then again, he’s not Tom.

Matt chuckles, taking the papers from Edd, only to wave them obnoxiously in his face. “They’re tickets, silly!” He teases, as if it’s obvious. “I was thinking, what, with the weather and all, that you might fancy a night out at the carnival!”

“... Night out? To a carnival?” Edd questions, flabbergasted. What carnival would ever be open at night? As far Edd has ever known, carnivals are only held during the daytime.

“We’re going to a special one,” Matt explains, a look of pure joy in his eyes. “Oh, you’ll love it, Edd! There are rides and games and shows!”

Edd laughs at Matt’s excitement, unable to resist the urge. “Heheh… when do you want to go?”

Matt’s eyes widen, before he looks ready to explode with happiness. He almost looks like he hadn’t expected Edd to come along. “Tonight, at about nine!” Matt confirms, pocketing the tickets in his hoodie. “You should sleep until then; we’ll be up all night! But don’t worry, I’ll wake you when it’s time to get ready.” He promises, before ruffling Edd’s hair and leaving him in peace.

Edd smiles, lying back down on the couch. He hasn’t been to a carnival since he was in grade school; this should be very exciting! He falls asleep quickly, dreams brimming with fantasies of what his night will be like.

…

“How do I look?” Matt asks, a laughing tone to his voice as he steps out of his room, Edd waiting outside the door for him.

Edd squints his eyes, feining judgement at Matt’s standard purple hoodie with green overcoat combo. “You know, that overcoat really does NOT go with your jeans…”

Matt’s eyes widen in the most hysterical way. “Wait, really!?” He begs to know, fumbling to throw off his overcoat. “I can’t be seen like this!”

Edd laughs outright, shaking his head. “Matt, I’m kidding. You look as perfect as always,” He blushes, suddenly realizing what he’s just said. He coughs into his fist, averting his eyes from Matt. “Um… we should get going.” He points out, changing the subject.

“Good call,” Matt replies, but Edd knows that he caught what he said. “Come along, mate,” He says, smiling willfully at Edd and his blushing face. “The carnival isn’t going to enjoy itself!”

They walk to the carnival, even though it’s quite a few blocks away. It’s nice out tonight, with just the right amount of coolness weathering the city of London. Edd sighs in contentment, favoring the cold weather to the overbearing heat from this morning. The walk to the carnival is quiet, with the only sound coming from city traffic and the lull of evening bugs taking to the skies. Once they reach the carnival, Edd’s eyes widen in amazement, astonished by the sheer size of the fair. It’s a big one, with lots of flashing lights and rides as far as the eye can see. Matt elbows Edd playfully, winking at the brunet, and Edd gives him a grin in return.

“The entrance is right over here,” Matt explains, leading Edd to the carnival’s front gates. “I think I should warn you now before we go in; a lot of people here like to dress up. I hope you don’t mind too much. The owners of this carnival are just… old fashioned.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve been to weirder places!” Edd promises, waving it off as nothing. Costumes, huh? That shouldn’t be an issue.

“Good. Because, once we get in there…” Matt trails off, before shaking his head, smiling at Edd in a hopeful manner. “Let’s just go in.”

Together, Matt and Edd enter, and now Edd thinks he understands why Matt was so worried. Everywhere Edd looks, people are dressed as monsters and creatures of the night- from vampires, to werewolves, to demons- heck, there are even little kids running around dressed as little monsters! Edd laughs under his breath at the sight, grinning all the while. A carnival like this seems more suited for Halloween, in his opinion, but who is he to judge? Now he almost wishes he had brought his old wizard cloak… of course, that old thing would be too small on him nowadays- his gran-gran had made it for him when he was, like, eight years old.

“Want to ride anything?” Matt asks, popping Edd out of his imagination. “They’ve got a few roller-coasters and merry-go-rounds, but the games are by far the most fun… you know, besides the big show later.”

“Hm… I suppose one roller-coaster ride couldn’t hurt,” Edd mutters, looking around until he spots a medium sized one. He points at it, catching Matt’s attention towards it. “How about that one over there? It seems a little less scary than the bigger ones…”

“Good choice. Whenever I bring Tord and Tom here, they make me ride the really big ones!” Matt explains, shivering at a bad memory of one such occasion.

“We don’t have to go on any roller-coasters if you don’t want to. I’m fine doing something else.” Edd assures, not wanting to scare the living Hell out of Matt.

Matt shakes his head, laughing it off. “Oh, no no no! I’ll be fine, mate!” He promises, ruffling Edd’s hair in appreciation. “Come on; this will be fun!”

...

It actually is pretty fun. Edd’s always enjoyed roller-coasters, so long as they’re stable. Matt clutches him the whole time, and despite himself, Edd finds that it makes the ride that much more enjoyable. Once they get off, Matt shakes his head like a dog- are his eyes glowing? What, no, it must’ve been Edd’s imagination, because the shine is gone a split second later.

“You hungry?” Matt finally asks, after regaining his balance. “I know which carts sell the best food here… at least, the best food you would enjoy. You look like a Magic Mike’s elephant ears sort of fellow to me!”

With great enthusiasm, Matt drags Edd to a cart labeled ‘Magic Mike’s Circus Grub’. He rings a little bell on the cart’s counter, and a man wearing a wizard’s outfit looks up from his book on the other side of the cart, eyes widening when he sees Edd and Matt. “Why, hello Mathew!” The stranger greets, smiling broadly at Matt in particular. He then looks at Edd, brow furrowing. “And who is this?”

“Hi,” Edd mumbles, feeling like he’s barging into Matt and this guy’s conversation, even though only the stranger has talked thus far. “I’m Edd… Matt’s roommate.”

“We just need one elephant ear and a ‘Red Slushie’,” Matt winks at the stranger for the last order, smirking at him. “Extra ‘Juice’ please with that drink.”

“Coming right up!” The stranger assures, and soon enough, he’s handing a red slushie and an elephant ear to Matt and Edd. “You two enjoy those now. And stay safe! You never know what creatures are lurking in the darkness…” He let’s out a dark chuckle, waving Matt and Edd off.

Edd watches the guy as he and Matt leave, looking slightly concerned. “Well he seemed… nice.” He mutters, feeling uncomfortable for some reason unknown to him.

Matt shrugs, smiling all the while. “That’s just Mike; he’s here every year,” He explains, before he goes stock still, eyes widening in amazement. “* _Gasp_ * A CYMBAL PLAYING MONKEY!?” He takes off into a crowd of people, leaving Edd behind.

“Matt! _Ugh…_ ” Edd groans, shaking his head in astonishment. Fucking Matt…

Without a second thought, Edd takes off after Matt, but the ginger sure did make it look easier than it actually is. Everywhere Edd moves, there are costume-wearing strangers surrounding him, some staring at him unabashedly. Edd hurries past them, trying to find his roommate in all of the chaos. Eventually, Edd pops up on the other side of the crowd, breathing hard as he looks around, absentmindedly nibbling on his elephant ear. Edd finds Matt rather quickly, now that he’s out of the crowd- the tall ginger is parked in front of a crane machine, trying and failing to grab ahold of a cymbal playing monkey inside.

Edd chuckles, heading over with a wide smile. “You having fun there?”

Matt shoots Edd a mild glare, obviously not amused. “No! It’s rigged I tell you- _RIGGED!_ ” He throws his hands up in irritation, frustrated with the machine.

“Here; let me try,” Edd urges, moving Matt out of the way so that he can play. “I’ll show you a neat trick my cousin showed me… I’m not sure why it always works, but it does,” He takes out two carnival tokens, giving the head sides of them each five rubs in total, before he pops them into the machine. As if by magic, this time, the crane catches the monkey. “See? It’s just an old trick.”

Matt grins, practically hopping up and down as Edd gives him the monkey toy, the ginger looking more excited than a child in a toy store. “That’s a crazy trick,” He comments after calming down a bit, a wicked glimmer in his eyes. “It’s almost as if you used magic…”

Edd blushes, looking away as he scratches the back of his head. “I guess so,” He mumbles, embarrassed to be getting such attention. “So… you were talking about carnival games earlier?”

Matt’s face lights up at that, the ginger grabbing Edd’s hand as he leads him towards the nearest game stand. “Oh, yes! The games here are SUPER!” He promises, an almost unnatural glee in every step he takes.

Edd goes red as an apple, amazed that Matt is holding his hand right now. He doesn’t pull away, even when they reach the stand- then again, he doesn’t want to. However, Matt does, as expected, need his hand back to play the game. Once he lets go, Edd actually looks up to see what game it is; it’s one of those ‘knock over the three cans’ games. Edd mentally slaps himself in the face; these games are rigged beyond reason. He turns, ready to warn Matt of this fact, but Matt is already throwing the ball, and by some miracle it actually knocks all of the cans over, shocking Edd into silence.

“WINNER!” The carnival barker behind the counter shouts, grinning at Matt. “Which prize would the lucky gentleman like, hm?”

“That one,” Matt says, pointing to a large bat stuffed animal hung on a hook. Once he receives the toy, he turns to Edd, giving it to him. “For you, kind sir!” He gives a fake bow once Edd has it in his arms, earning a chuckle from the carnival barker.

Edd blushes again, but he smiles too, feeling pampered by his roommate. “Wow… thank you so much, Matt. How’d you even do that?”

Matt grins, soaking in the affection like a dry sponge. “It’s just a flick of the wrist, my dearest roommate!”

Edd nods, before a loud siren goes off nearby. He jumps, terrified. “What was that!? Is there a fire or something!?” He questions, looking around frantically for the source of the noise.

Matt smiles, ruffling Edd’s hair in a comforting manner. “The magic show is going to start soon,” He explains, beginning to lead Edd to a large, colorful tent in the middle of the carnival area. “You’re really going to love this one, Edd.”

Edd follows Matt inside, starstruck by all of the people. They find seats, after a few minutes, finding themselves close enough to at least see the performance if not hear it. An announcer shouts something out from the middle of the tent, and despite being in the tent itself, Edd can’t hear a thing he says, but soon enough he leaves, being replaced by three different people. The first character is a man dressed as an old-time carpenter, the second person is a man in a vampire costume, and the third is a woman dressed up as a young witch. With the carpenters help, the vampire climbs into a wooden box the carpenter had dragged onto the stage.

Once the vampire is situated inside, the carpenter locks the box and pulls out a huge, sharp saw. Edd bites his lip- he has an idea of what is about to happen. Beside him, Matt winks, rubbing Edd’s shoulder, as if he’s trying to assure him that everything will be alright. Down below, the witch steps towards the box, lifting her hands above her head as she let’s out an unheard chant. Edd’s insides tighten, even though he can’t hear her, as if those words have more meaning than they should to him. However, before Edd can really dwell on this, the carpenter saws the box in half without a second thought as to the man insides safety.

The crowd goes deathly quiet. As the box breaks in half, out flies a large, black and brown bat, the fake vampire nowhere to be found. All at once, the crowd begins to cheer. Edd cheers along with them, clapping enthusiastically at the spectacle. He looks to Matt, to confirm that he also saw the stunning trick before them. Instead of seeing the taller man cheering as well, though, Matt is staring straight at him. When their eyes meet, Matt smiles wide, as if he's just content to see Edd happy.

Edd feels his face flush under the warm gaze of his friend. He gulps, attempting to calm himself down. Why is his heart racing all of a sudden? He has no time to think; the show is over and people start to get up out of their seats, and as they do Matt takes Edd's hand in his and they wordlessly leave with the rest of the crowd. Edd's about to ask where they're going, but Matt shoots him the giddiest look over his shoulder, and Edd forgets the words he was going to say before they even get to his mouth.

It takes a few moments, but when they finally stop pushing through the crowd it's obvious they're in a line for the ferris wheel. A quizzical look sent Matt's way causes him to smile brightly once more, hand coming up to scratch the back of his head nervously. “Thought we could finish the evening with the big wheel, yeah?” Edd just nods, smiling up at Matt.

The line moves quickly, and when they finally get into one of the cars, they slide in, sitting on opposite sides of each other. Edd can't help but look excitedly outside as they go up. They stop for about two minutes each time they move, so everyone who rides gets a chance to stay at the top for a bit. Edd twiddles his fingers together nervously as they make their way up.

“Thanks for taking me here, tonight, Matt,” He says, looking at the redhead with a warm grin. “It was a great idea; I've had a really good time.” Matt smirks, inching himself slightly closer to Edd so their knees were just barely touching. The breath in Edd's throat hitches at the contact.

“It really is no trouble at all, Edd,” Matt looks into Edd's eyes as he speaks. “I had a lot of fun, too.” For a moment he looks nervous, but he keeps the eye contact steady and lets out the smallest sigh. It almost sounds... longing? Edd feels like he's being too hopeful.

They're almost at the top of the wheel now, and Edd realizes how close Matt is. The way he's sitting, with his body forward as though he's interested in what the smaller man could be saying, or just, interested in him in general, makes the cartoonist's innards twist. Matt is _really_ close. Edd shudders involuntarily.

“Are you okay, Edd? You're looking quite flush.” Matt mutters softly, his voice sounding infinitely loud in the quiet space around them.

Edd's lost for words, so he just nods, staring up into Matt's eyes. Everything's probably okay. Better than okay? Edd's really warm but he's sure he's fine. He never realized Matt's eyes were so... blue. Like, a dark, dark blue he'd never really seen before on anyone. The low light makes the blue seem unnaturally bright, and the reflections of carnival neons make them look like a nebula in space, or something equally poetic. They’re _really_ pretty. Why is his heart racing?

Edd almost doesn't notice when Matt's face inches closer. _Almost_. The taller man’s eyes start to become half-lidded first, and then, wow- Matt is closer than he was a second ago, which was already quite close. The way they're sitting, their legs are intermingled, knocking knees together when the car moves. Edd can feel the taller man's breath on his lips and can't help but dart his tongue out to wet them. Matt's eyes follow the movement, so he does it again, which causes Matt to look directly into his eyes. “Edd.” The redhead says huskily, and it's all the shorter man needs to hear to lean forward that last inch (Or mile? It felt way too long).

Their lips connect and Edd absolutely melts into the contact, reaching his hands out to lay them on Matt's chest. He feels Matt's hands rest on his waist, and he hums softly at the light feeling's contrast to the pressure of their mouths moving against each other. They break away for a breath, but Edd doesn't bother to open his eyes. Matt brings one of his hands up to Edd's face, holding it in his wide palm. His hands are large, soft, and for once, they actually feel kind of warm, so Edd leans into the touch with a content sigh. He hears Matt make a soft sound, something between a whimper and a groan, before there are wet lips on his again.

They stay like that for a few moments, just softly kissing, swaying lightly as the car moves. Hands shift around from chests to broad shoulders and from faces to the napes of necks to play with the soft strands of hair there. They break away one last time, both staring into each other's eyes, breathing heavily.

Edd breaks the silence first, glancing outside as he speaks airily. “We missed the top.” The lights that seemed so distant just a moment ago get a bit closer.

“Goes ‘round twice.” Matt huffs, licking his flushed lips after he speaks. This time it's Edd following the quick movement, groaning lowly at the sight. He nods, breathlessly, and leans forward to kiss the other man before their ride ends.

...

They get back home a few hours later, the duo laughing obnoxiously as they come off the elevator, running right into Tord and Tom, who are talking in hushed tones outside of their own apartment. “Ha, it seems somebody had a fun night out,” Tord comments when he sees Edd and Matt, grinning devilishly at the duo. “You two hit the carnival?”

“Yeah. It was a blast!” Edd explains, grinning from ear to ear, before he leans heavily against Matt, letting out a mighty yawn of fatigue as he hugs his stuffed bat closer to himself. “I’m pretty beat though…”

Matt chuckles at Edd’s yawn, ruffling the brunet’s hair. “We should really get to bed. See you later, chaps!” He says, starting to lead Edd away.

However, as Edd passes by, Tom grabs the cartoonist’s arm and leans up to whisper into his ear. “When you two are screwing, keep it down, okay?” He requests, grinning against Edd’s ear as the aforementioned man shudders in embarrassment.

As soon as Matt and Edd are inside they’re laughing again, caught up in each others giddiness from the evening. They both plop down on the couch, sitting shoulder to shoulder as they wind down a bit. Edd tilts his head to rest in the crook of Matt’s neck and the taller man hums happily at the touch. The shorter man laughs lightly against the skin there and does what any grown adult would do to their (also grown adult) romantic interest. 

He shifts his body on top of Matt’s and blows the biggest raspberry he can, right in the sensitive skin of his neck. The redhead screeches, attempting to get away, but Edd wraps his arms around him. Matt thrashes and kicks, laughing and shouting in displeasure. In just a few seconds Edd lets go and Matt is instantly on the other side of the room. 

“What is the meaning of such treachery?” Edd just laughs at the indignant look on Matt’s face. He pouts, but returns to the couch, wary eyes never leaving Edd’s. “I think it’s time for bed.” And Edd nods, snickering the whole time. They begin to make their way to their rooms, but when they both get to the space between them they’re looking at each other expectantly, wondering who will make the move.

“Hey,” It’s Edd. “Do you wanna just…” He wrings his hands together, back to the nervous kind of step they’ve been at all day. “Sleep in the same bed tonight?” Matt smiles brightly. 

_“Indubitably_.” They share a short embrace, and then split their separate ways to get their night clothes on before returning to Matt’s bed.

...

Edd smiles a few hours later, lying awake despite his fatigue next to a sleeping Matt. He stares at his new boyfriend with half-lidded eyes, tracing a hand down Matt’s T-shirt clad back. Edd glances out the window of Matt’s bedroom next, noticing Ringo on the windowsill. The cat meows at the outside world, pawing at the glass in an attempt to get at a bird outside as the morning sunrise begins to shine into the room. Edd yawns, snuggling into Matt’s chest as he feels himself drifting to sleep at last. He’s never felt so safe and comfortable in his life. In his sleep, Matt loosely wraps his arms around Edd, pulling the young man closer to himself.

Edd smiles against Matt’s chest, falling asleep in an instant. He was right a few months ago; this is the place where he belongs.

...

Edd stretches as he gets out of the creaky elevator, arms above his head as he lets out a groan. Any day where Edd has to spend a prolonged amount of time outside can be a pain in his ass, but when it comes to going out and doing job stuff (and not the fun job stuff, like people watching or any kind of drawing) he just ends up feeling so drained. Earlier on, he had to meet with a client who he’s illustrating for, but the client was quite insistent on shortening the deadline for his work.

It was a late night out, and despite Matt being home soon, Edd decides that it might be best to just get some rest now and hang out with his boyfriend tomorrow. He trudges up to the door, dropping his bags as he pulls the key to his apartment out. Edd clinks the key against the knob twice and then drops the damn thing, but when he reaches for it, he taps it with his fingers and sends it flying under Tom and Tord’s front door. He thumps his head against his own door, letting out a frustrated groan.

With much annoyance, Edd leans down on his hands and knees, attempting to look under his neighbor’s door to see is he can find the offending piece of metal, but as he looks underneath, he begins to hear Tom and Tord’s voices, and… Well, Edd can be quite nosey at times, and from the sound of things, a disagreement is taking place between the two residents. 

It’s muffled, but when he puts his ear up to the door, Edd can make out most of the conversation. 

“...etting worse,” The first voice he hears has an unmistakably Norwegian accent: Tord. He sounds annoyed. “Have you been drinking your medication regularly?”

“Don’t talk to me like a kid,” The second voice is probably Tom, but he slurs through his words and groans during pauses, so the assumption is mostly an educated guess. “I’ve been taking that shit just like you told me to.” 

Edd shivers. He shouldn’t be listening to such an important conversation. But his legs are frozen and he can’t will himself to move away from the voices that sound behind the door.

An exasperated sound from the first voice. “Well I wouldn’t have to talk to you like this if you had actually listened, _Tom!_ ” He hisses the name. No sound is heard from either of them except the ragged, short breathing, and then suddenly the sharp clang of metal, causing Edd to jump.

“The lip of your canteen is dry!” The first voice starts shouting. “How long has it been since you’ve taken a dose of your radiation reductor?” The sound of papers shuffling and the groans getting louder make Edd’s stomach turn. “Tom, are you fucki-” Tord’s yelling is cut off by a low, guttural growl, and a series of Norwegian curses. 

“͝ To҉r̷d̡,” A voice that only kind of sounds like Tom’s hisses. “̛͜To҉r̷d̡ g͘e̢t _**ó ͧ͠ u͇҉t.**_ ” The last word is drawn out, as though whoever is speaking is in pain.

“Tom, calm down, it’s fine, just calm down,” For the first time since Edd has met Tord, he sounds like something other than annoyed or cocky. The waver in his voice is unmistakably fear. “I’m just gonna get you a dose from the fridge, oka-” Tord’s cut off again, this time by a roar and the sound of wood shattering.

“To҉r̷d̴̡, ̛ ҉I sa͚ i̺͙ d _**g̴҉et͝ o̴̺ut̴!**_ ” Tom’s voice gets drowned out by a loud roar, and a struggle is heard from inside the apartment. Edd grabs the doorknob, jiggling it anxiously, but suddenly the door bursts open and Tord flies out and collides with him.

It takes a few moments for either to respond. “Edd? Are you fucking kidding me?” Tord screeches in the cartoonist’s face. Another growl sounds from behind him and he turns around anxiously. “Shit,” He draws out the word. “Tom hasn't gotten this bad in months.”

Edd glances over Tord’s shoulder with concern. “Tom? Is Tom okay?” He can't see very far into the dark apartment, but there's papers scattered about and even some of the furniture is tipped over.

“Edd,” Tord turns and hisses at the smaller man. “Get out of here; go into your apartment, lock your door, and wait for Matt to come home before you leave,” The Nord rolls off Edd and helps him up, but when Edd doesn’t run off Tord turns on him again. _“Edd!?!”_

Wordlessly, Edd just points to his key, sitting in the middle of Tord’s apartment. The two exchange looks (Tord looking furious, Edd looking somehow both sheepish and worried), when suddenly a huge, purple-clawed hand reaches around the doorway’s edge. The pair outside have less than a split-second to react before a monstrous beast hauls itself into the hall with them, peeling the door from its hinges as it goes. 

The dark purple creature looms there for a second, single black eye swiveling in its socket. Despite having all four legs on the ground and being hunched forward, it's tall enough that its two horns scrape the ceiling with each breath.

It brings one massive claw down with a roar, smashing the ground in-between both men. The beast then uses its long, muscular tail to launch Tord away and down the hall, shouting the whole way until he hits the end of the hallway.

Edd calls out to him, but Tord lays slumped, half embedded into the drywall. The Monster faces him, black eye unwavering. Edd tries to get away, but he’s backed against the wall, and the beast is inching closer and closer. 

Well, Edd thinks to himself, I guess this is the end? He scrunches his eyes shut, unwilling to look his demise in the face. But moments later, when nothing happens, Edd peaks one eye open.

The Monster has turned its back on him, snarling fiercely at something across the hall. Edd tries to peer around the creature, but all he can see is Tord’s still unconscious body. The Monster is looking about frantically, trying to pinpoint… something.

All of a sudden, the hair on the back of Edd’s neck stands up, and a chill fills the room. The monster’s tail twitches, and within one second it's been pushed to the ground by a strong force. Edd fears looking up at the thing that casts a shadow on him, tall and domineering. Whatever could just knock that thing down like it was nothing just had to be…

He can't help looking up. 

It's large, about the same size as the monster on the ground, but much leaner. The fur that covers most of its body is a reddish brown, while it's large leathery wings are a bit darker in shade. It's got big ears and blood red eyes, but by far the most disturbing feature is its mouth. The maw on the thing is wide, long, and has far too many sharp teeth to be comfortable. 

To Edd’s astonishment, the bat-like beast looks at him, blinks, and then faces the other monster as it begins to regain its footing. The purple thing charges the brown, and they begin to grapple, claws slashing at each other.

Edd takes this opportunity to run for Tord at the far end of the hall. He brushes the rubble off his neighbor and checks his pulse… Nothing. Panicking, Edd scoops him up, and books it down to his neighbor’s apartment. He doesn't throw the monsters a second glance as he goes inside, setting Tord down on the couch.

“Fuck, I-” He looks at Tord’s body on the couch. Tord is dead, he has no pulse, he isn't moving… Edd stares at his neighbor, lying on the couch, completely still. Except… Tord’s chest moves very, very slowly. Edd pulls out his phone, shakily holding it up to his friend’s nose to confirm it isn't his eyes playing tricks on him, and when his screen fogs up slightly he realizes that somehow, Tord not having a pulse doesn't mean he's dead.

Before he can get up to find a first aid kit, Tord’s hand shoots out and grabs Edd’s arm. “Edd,” He croaks. “Get Tom’s pen from the fridge.” Edd hesitates for only a moment, then nods and runs over to the fridge, finding the same pen Matt gave him that first day he and Tom went to the grocery store.

Despite scanning the apartment for any sign of Tom, the cartoonist struggles to find him anywhere. He rushes back to Tord, pen in hand. “Tord, where’s Tom? I-” He gulps, sense of dread creeping over him. “I can't find him anywhere.”

Tord laughs at Edd, despite the situation. “You really are a fucking idiot, aren’t you?” Edd’s distressed expression is all he needs for an answer. He lets his head fall back, not willing to look his friend in the eyes. “Need to spell it out for you… that monster, out there?” He points to the door. “That’s Tom.”

Edd feels like he’s going to be sick. Every warning up until this point, he’s chosen to ignore or pretend it wasn’t there. Something _had_ been going on in the apartment building, this whole time. And he chose to freaking _ignore_ it. “Okay,” He says mostly to himself, staring at the medication in his hands. “How do I help him?”

“Inject him with the meds; it’s just like an EpiPen- You ever use one before?” Edd nods, to which Tord does the same. “Good. Doesn’t matter where you inject him, just so long as it’s not directly into his heart. He’ll go unconscious in a matter of minutes once you inject him.”

“What about the other monster?” Edd asks shakily. 

This gets Tord’s attention. “Nn? Other monster? Who else is out there?”

“Like, uh, a big bat thing?”

Tord waves him off. “Oh. He’s not an issue, he shouldn’t hurt you.” He rolls over onto his side as he speaks, voice heavy with fatigue.

_“Shouldn’t!?”_

The Norwegian huffs, and looks over his shoulder, red eyes glowing. “Yeah, he shouldn’t. I don’t know if he ate yet,” Tord laughs at the look of horror on Edd’s face. “You’ll be fine, friend. Just go.” The smallest trace of pain flickers in Tord’s eyes. “Help Tom.”

Edd steels himself one final time before standing. He makes his way to the door, head poking out to inspect the hall. Both creatures are still fighting fiercely, but the bat-thing is clearly more adept when it comes to combat. It’s doing its best to wear the monst-Tom out, dodging his more powerful attacks and running him in circles. The bat spots Edd immediately, red eyes flicking to his hand with the Pen in it. 

WIthout warning, it leaps for Tom, screeching as it pins him on the ground. It hisses and clicks at Edd as it maneuvers Tom’s leg within stabbing position for the medication. Tom roars and growls as he’s held there, trying to use his bright purple horns to skewer the other monster. 

Edd runs over, holding the pen at the ready, but Tom manages to thrash his tail at Edd, knocking the wind out of his lungs “ _Oof-_ ” The cartoonist gasps, but holds onto the tail with both arms, swinging his body over it so he’s straddling it. Without giving himself time to think, he brings the applicator down on Tom’s tail. _Hard_.

Tom howls, thrashing his tail and body about quickly, but Edd doesn’t relent, holding the pen down until it clicks, signalling the medication has been completely administered. As if by magic, Tom begins to calm down; roars become growls, growls become whimpers, and eventually, all sounds from Tom die down. 

Shakily, Edd steps off of Tom’s tail and looks to the other monster on top of his friend. The creature quickly looks away, but the cartoonist can only assume he’s been staring the entire time he’d been sedating Tom. 

“Uh…” Edd starts, honestly lost for words. Before he can continue, though, the bat monster shifts off of Tom, gives the unconscious mound a sniff, then sits itself down on the ground, still refusing to meet Edd's gaze.

Breaking the awkward silence, Tord shuffles out of his door, arms laden with a few towels, t-shirts, a couple pairs of boxers, and his red hoodie in hand. All the cuts and bruises that Edd saw on Tord's face are completely gone now (and there are none on his arms, but Edd doesn’t know is he got any from the impact in the first place), though he has a small limp.

“Tom will start shifting back soon,” He drops some clothes down next to Tom and drapes the towel over his back end. The rest of the clothes, he holds out to the bat monster, who accepts them with a soft hiss. “Let’s give our friends some privacy, Edd.”

“But what about…” What about everyone else who lives here? Will Tom be okay out here on his own like this, even if someone comes to this floor? Edd chooses not to voice his concerns, though, feeling like he already knows the answer. Tord nods at the slightly shorter man.

“He’ll be fine,” He says, motioning for Edd to follow him into his apartment. “Let's try and clean up this mess before the other two come in.” They reposition the couch, armchair, and all the other furniture so it's all in their proper places. By the time they put the TV back into an upright position, Edd excuses himself to sit down. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, he’s beginning to feel faint and dizzy. 

Tord soon sits on the couch too, taking up his usual lounging position with his legs on Edd's lap. Both men let out a long sigh, enjoying a moment of respite. A small knock from the doorway causes both men on the couch to jump. 

“Uh, hey guys? What happened here?” Matt’s head pokes around the corner of the still gaping entry way. Despite it being an open question, he looks pointedly at Tord, who shrugs.

“I don't think there's a point in hiding anything anymore, Matt,” He stretches his arms above his head until his shoulder pops. “You guys can come in, you know.” 

Matt nods and shuffles in, wearing a dark brown T-shirt with “Hello, Hellhole!” in bright, red letters and a pair of purple patterned boxers. He takes his place on the couch right next to Edd (after making Tord lift his legs for a moment), sitting shoulder to shoulder with his significant other. Tom is right behind him, wearing Tord’s hoodie and the blue boxers. He looks nobody in the eye but also makes Tord shift, so he’s sits between him and Matt.

Nobody says anything for quite some time, but eventually somebody needs to break the silence, and address the elephant in the room.

“So, uhm,” Edd starts but when all eyes are on him he clams up. “Who, er- What do we do about the... door?” A beat of silence, then a small snicker from Matt. He turns away, but his shoulders shake from suppressed laughter and Tom can’t help but full on laugh. Tord just smirks, shaking his head.

“Someone will probably come fix it later today,” Matt supplies, when he regains his composure. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened,” Tom flinches, causing Matt to backpedal. “To anyone in the complex, I mean. Paul, Patryck, and even myself have devastated some furniture, let me tell you.”

Another beat. Tom sighs, “Tord, where’s my canteen?” Within a flash it’s in Tom’s hands, already full of liquid. “...Thanks,” He takes a swig and sighs, though more relaxed than before. He throws a glance Edd’s way. “If you have any questions you need to answered now, I’d ask before we all pass out on this damn couch.” Tord and Matt grunt in agreement.

Edd’s head spins. Where should he begin? “Is everyone in the complex…?” He trails off, looking between his friends.

“Supernatural? Yeah,” Tom cracks his knuckles, grimacing at the feeling. “There’s kind of, like, a barrier on the front door. It prevents non-paranormal beings from entering, basically changes their mind about coming in.”

Tord turns his gaze on Edd immediately, cocky smirk present as always, “Makes you wonder how you’re here, huh?” Edd nods, unsure if he really wants to know. “The first time I met you, when I called you a wizard? Not some kind of lame joke. You got wizard blood in you, but it looks like your ability to manipulate magic just hasn’t really…” He trails off, looking to Matt.

“Come to fruition?” He supplies, though he also seems lost. “Magical ability can be sensed by things like us, so when you walk around oblivious to those around you but smelling like, well,” He flails his hands. “A wizard!” He sighs. “It turns a few heads.”

Tom also chimes in. “We decided it’d be better for you to find out over time, but, I mean-” He cuts himself off by taking a long swig from his canteen, looking away from everyone else. 

“It’s not like it was your fault, Tom. Not everyone can control shifts easily; it should come with time.” Matt supplies, attempting to be helpful, but Tom doesn’t appear to be quite having it. He continues to drink from his canteen instead of answering.

Edd’s head swims. Wizard? Magic ability? Paranormal beings? Also, him, a fucking wizard?? This has to be some kind of mistake. “There… has to be some kind of mistake, right?” He looks around at the mixed gazes around him. “I can’t be a wizard! I mean, wouldn’t my folks have told me at some point?” 

Tord smirks. “Yeah, magic manipulation tends to be hereditary, but it’s pretty obvious, right? Your grandmother had to be a witch or something.”

“My gran-gran? What makes you say that?” 

“Ringo, for one,” Tom finally speaks up again. “By the way he acts, we think he’s probably a familiar. He’s protective of you, and he’s pretty aggressive around paranormals like Matt and Tord.” The aforementioned just nod.

“Okay,” Edd shrugs, still unsure. Despite what he's seen today, the idea of him being some kind of magical person still eludes him. “What was that other, er,” He pauses, trying to think of an inoffensive way to say monster. “Paranormal being, out there?” He tries.

Matt gives him a pained half smile, nodding. “It's fine to say monster, Edd. Honestly, that form is dreadfully ugly,” He sighs, but smiles wide, showing off a pair of sharp canines. “That gruesome fellow was, unfortunately, yours truly.”

Edd gulps, but makes sure not to flinch away from Matt. Nothing has changed about him since he’s met him. “So, those medical samples in the fridge…?”

“Not for work, I'm afraid,” Matt shrugs. “I’m a vampire, so I need to drink blood in order to not go feral. I do work as a nurse, and my boss is aware of what I am. He graciously allows me to take blood in exchange for not killing anyone, which, I honestly wasn't a fan of in the first place.”

Tom laughs. “Because if something's too messy for Matt, it has to be unbearable for everyone else.” This earns a few chuckles from all parties present, though Matt huffs.

After yet another beat of silence, all eyes turn to Edd. He lets a soft sigh escape him. “I think that's enough questions for tonight,” He turns his head into Matt’s shoulder, mumbling into it. “We can sort everything else out later; I’m just tired right now.”

Matt pats the smaller man on the back, “Let’s get back to the apartment, then, Edd.” The cartoonist nods into his shoulder, but doesn’t move from his spot. Tord’s still got his legs on top of Edd’s lap and everyone else’s, but when Matt looks at the Norwegian he finds that he’s conked out. A quick glance at Tom shows he’s also fallen asleep, and Edd is fading fast in his arms. 

“Or,” He sighs, laying his head back and tightening his hold around Edd. “I suppose we could sleep here for the night.” He allows his eyes to slip shut, and in only a few short minutes he falls asleep, warm and content.


	2. By the Skin of Your Teeth

It’s a dream; Edd knows that from the very beginning. He opens his eyes to see the ceiling of his grandmother’s living room, feeling a deep warmth in his chest. He’s four years old, he realizes, rolling over onto his stomach to look around. Edd’s grandma is sitting in her rocking chair, wearing a worn, brown cloak as she writes something down in one of her old books. Edd looks down at the floor in front of him, finding a half-drawn superhero on a sheet of paper, surrounded by Crayola crayons and a weathered pencil. Must’ve fallen asleep, Edd thinks, even though it’s a dream. Part of him doesn’t want it to be a dream; he wants it to be real.

“Edward,” Edd looks up, meeting his gran-gran’s gaze. The old woman smiles at him, patting her lap. “Come here, my darling. Gran-gran needs to talk to you for a minute.”

Edd nods, feeling himself get up and walk over to his grandmother, crawling into her open lap with ease. She hugs him once he’s situated, ruffling his hair playfully. “There we are, my little wizard. I need to show you something very important,” She stands up, carrying Edd as she takes him into her private study. The bookshelves inside are lined with hundreds upon hundreds of old books. “Do you see all of these books, Edward? Gran-gran has been collecting them since she was very young,” She grabs one off a shelf, opening it to a random page. “Can you read that for me, dear?”

Edd squints, finding reading hard somehow in this dream. He shakes his head, and his grandmother nods knowingly. “I’ll read it then,” She assures, clearing her throat. “Protect with light that is pure, protect through night and day. Protect from harm, protect from negative energy. This shield cannot be broken. So mote it be,” She smiles afterwards, kissing Edd’s forehead. “This is a spell for protection, Edward. If ever you are afraid that you are not strong enough, repeat this spell and you shall feel your heart ready itself. Can you try and repeat what gran-gran said, my darling?”

“Um…” Edd whimpers, struggling to remember the words. “Protect… from…” He feels frustrated, angry that he can’t remember.

Gran-gran chuckles softly, ruffling Edd’s hair. “Do not fret, dear. The words will come in time. I only wish to prepare you… gran-gran will not always be here. That is why you must prepare yourself to be strong. There are many creatures out there, from fairies to ghosts to vampires… you must be ready to protect yourself from them.”

With that said, Edd’s grandmother sets him down, giving his head one last pat before ushering him out the door of the study. “Now go on, dear. Go draw your pictures while gran-gran studies her books… I have some work to do.” The dream begins to fade as Edd walks away, mentally screaming at himself for not turning around and going back to her, for one last hug goodbye.

…

Edd wakes with a start, eyes opening wide, but he quickly squints them against the faint light in the bedroom. It has to be early, probably around seven or so. The memories of his dream have already started to become fuzzy, and he struggles to think of what would startle him to be awake. He lets out a small grunt and retreats more under the covers, rolling over so his back is to the window. He rolls right into Matt’s back and hums, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.

Matt doesn't wake up right away, but he stirs for a moment, shifting in his sleep so he's facing Edd’s warm embrace. A quick glance up at his face confirms that he's smiling in his sleep; it's cute and Edd can't help but make a noise. He buries his head under the covers to hide the dumb expression on his face. They lie together like this for quite some time, and Edd couldn't be happier.

It could be anytime from five minutes to an hour before the taller man wakes up, making the tiniest groan deep in his chest. He scrunches up his eyes and face, disgruntled in his first few minutes of being awake, but he looks down at Edd and smiles (face returning to a more gentle appearance). He puts his arms around Edd as well, pulling him up so their faces are at the same level, kissing his nose once as a way to say ‘good morning’.

“What time is it?” Matt murmurs softly into Edd’s hair.

Edd hums, reaching to Matt’s nightstand for his phone. He doesn’t bother rolling over to actually _look_ , but in a matter of moments it's in his hand. The smaller man cracks an eye open at the phone’s glow. “Nine thirty,” He sets the phone back down. “Too early.”

A nod is felt rather than seen, as the two keep their eyes shut peacefully, attempting to savor the morning. Matt speaks soon, though, never one to be quiet for long. “We should have a big breakfast,” He smiles against the top of Edd’s head. “With eggs and bacon and, uh,” He leans away from Edd and regards him for a moment. “Do you prefer waffles or pancakes?” 

Edd brings up a hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes and yawns. “Waffles. Did you really not know?” Matt shakes his head in the negative. “I can't believe my boyfriend doesn’t know I like waffles more than pancakes. I don't even really like pancakes at all,” He's smiling despite himself. “Do you even know how I like my waffles?”

“With blueberries.” Matt says matter-of-factly, but he also has a warm expression. He props himself up on one elbow, looking down at Edd. The cartoonist still can't help but get butterflies in his stomach when his boyfriend looks at him like this: like he’s the only person in the world.

“That sounded like a guess, but you’re right.” He playfully grabs the pillow from behind his head and plops it into Matt’s face. When it falls away, the redhead does his best to look indignant, but the corners of his mouth threaten to turn upwards. 

He huffs, and turns his smiling face away, going to stand. “I totally did know you like blueberries. I know lots of things you like.” The tall man stretches as he makes his way to his dresser, pulling out some clothes for the day. Edd appreciates the view.

“What else do I like then?” 

Matt returns to the bed, leaning over his boyfriend smugly. “Me.”

Edd smiles, knowing where this is going. “Oh yeah? What else?” He plays along.

His boyfriend taps his chin, as if in intense thought. “Well, I'm pretty sure you really like…” He pauses suspensefully. “ _Me_ ,” Edd laughs, but Matt continues. “There’s also me, and me, and we can't forget about me, of course.”

“You're such a narcissist,” Edd is smiling wide, leaning up to smooch Matt’s cheek while he smooths his hands on those broad shoulders. “But you're right, I really do like you, you nerd.” 

Matt huffs. “Breakfast, then?”

“Only because you promised blueberry waffles,” Edd goes to get out of bed, but before he can even get his feet on the floor, Matt is picking him up, arms under his knees and shoulders. “Oh my god,” He deadpans, a light flush beginning to spread on his face. Matt is laughing, walking towards the door, and Edd has to wrap his arms around the redhead’s neck to keep himself stable. “Oh my god.” He repeats.

Matt fiddles with the doorknob with Edd in his arms. He hasn't stopped smiling or laughing and it's beginning to become contagious, because the smaller man bursts into a fit of giggles himself. The pair make their way to the kitchen, so wrapped up in each other that they almost don't notice the other two men on the couch.

“Sup.” Tom says from his seat, eyes never leaving the television set. Tord, on the other hand, isn't as forgiving about his friends walking into the living room so domestically. 

“Yes, greetings, Edd and Matt!” He says, smirking devilishly at the pair. “You two appear to be having a good morning.” 

Edd’s blush lights up his entire face, spreading to his ears and neck as he detaches himself from Matt. Tord huffs.

“You don't have to stop doing, eh,” He draws the word out as he considers the both of them, flicking his gaze up and down. “Whatever it was you were doing,” Matt (also red faced) stiffly turns to the kitchen to begin making breakfast when he adds; “Oh! Breakfast? I'll have scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes please. Also bacon, of course.”

Edd rolls his eyes and follows Matt. The taller man waves him off as he gathers ingredients, though, so he goes towards the couch. Tord lifts his legs for Edd to sit, but he walks right past him to sit in the armchair on the side instead. Tord pouts, and Tom chuckles in response.

It's been two weeks since Tom’s accident and Edd’s found out about the apartment complex's big secret. Not much has changed; the only real difference is that Tom and Tord have been visiting much more frequently. At first he thought it was because of the construction on their door and the repairs they needed for their apartment, but it's been more than a week since all that was done. Edd can't say he minds the company, though.

The other residents of the building haven't felt the need to avoid him, which is honestly great, and he doesn't have that weird, gut instinct that something around here is… off. It's been nice. 

He looks to his friends, smiling fondly at them for a moment. Life is good.

…

Edd groans, stepping off the elevator with his arms full of groceries. He stumbles to his apartment door, struggling to not break anything as he sets the bags down, giving him the freedom to yank out his keys and get the door open. Edd glances down the hall as he pulls out his key-ring, eyes widening when he sees two men he’s never met before standing outside of Tom and Tord’s door. One of them has a cigarette in his mouth, though it’s unlit, as if just having the object in his mouth is enough to satisfy him. Beside him is another man, looking very tired, a yawn escaping his mouth. Edd raises an eyebrow at them, mainly because they’re wearing nothing but boxers.

“Um… are you guys okay?” Edd asks, more out of curiosity than anything else. The cigarette guy looks up, huffs, then looks away again.

The tired guy blinks at Edd, looking him up and down. “You’re the wizard,” He states more than asks, eyes never leaving Edd. “Mr. Luvart told us about you.”

“Oh, you fellas know Tord?” Edd puts his keys away, not feeling in a rush as he addresses the two strangers.

Cigarette guy shrugs; tired guy nods. “Yeah, we know him. He’s our leader,” Tired guy explains, scratching under his chin, appearing itchy. “I’m Patryk. This is Paul.” He adds, nodding once towards cigarette guy.

Edd smiles, holding his hand out to Paul and Patryk. “It’s nice to meet you both. But… may I ask how Tord is your leader?”

Paul, surprisingly enough, is the one to step forward and shake Edd’s hand, a stern look on his face. “Classified.” He deadpans, glaring at Edd as he looks pointedly into his eyes, his own making Edd feel uneasy.

Patryk steps in-between Edd and Paul, muttering something into Paul’s ear in another language. Paul immediately backs off, though he’s still on-guard. “You’ll have to excuse him. Paul and I have had a rough day,” Patryk explains, smiling halfheartedly at Edd. “We just need to talk to Red Leader as soon as possible.”

Edd nods, glancing between the two men. “Right, well… if you want, you can wait for him in my apartment.” He offers, trying to be helpful.

Paul let’s out a low, guttural growl. “Vampires… _eck_.” He glares at Edd’s front door as he says it, before letting out a loud bark at the wooden door.

"Легко," Patryk warns, voice low as he glares right back at Paul, who hesitantly backs off. "Он всего лишь пытался помочь."

“Matt isn’t home,” Edd adds in. He feels bad that Paul and Patryk have to wait for Tord outside his apartment; they should at least be allowed to stay somewhere relatively cozy until he gets back. “And… I could let you borrow some clothes, if you need them.” He says this while pointedly staring at Paul and Patryk’s boxers.

Patryk and Paul share a glance, talking together in hushed tones in their shared language. Finally, Patryk nods at Edd, smiling a little again. “That would be very much appreciated. Thank you.”

Edd smiles, unlocking and opening the door for Patryk and Paul, allowing the two men inside. “It’s no trouble at all; I’m always happy to help out a neighbor.”

Without missing a beat, Paul crouches on the ground and, right before Edd’s very eyes, changes into a large, brown wolf. Letting out a short bark, the beast lumbers into the apartment, lies on the couch, and passes out, tail wagging in contentment. Edd stares, wide-eyed and amazed, while Patryk only half-changes, gaining wolf-like ears and a tail as he walks inside, immediately digging into the fridge. He pulls out some of Tord’s jerky reserves from inside, tearing open the bag and eating from it with little to no permission. Patryk flops onto the couch, the upper half of his body lying on Paul’s curled form as the other man sleeps.

“You’re… you’re…” Edd can’t even speak as he shakily follows Patryk inside, eyes still impossibly wide as he stares at the two supernatural creatures.

“Werewolves, yes,” Patryk confirms, a neutral look on his face as he continues to eat Tord’s leftover jerky. “You are fairly naive for a wizard, friend.”

Edd huffs, rolling his eyes. “I’m not naive,” He mutters, causing Patryk to chuckle. Edd blushes, embarrassed in front of the werewolf. “I just didn’t know.”

Patryk continues to laugh, before shaking his head to calm himself. “You are truly amusing, wizard.” He decides, before continuing to down all of Tord’s jerky.

Paul grunts in agreement, still half asleep in his wolf form beside Patryk. Sighing, Edd goes to gather up the groceries, only to find Tord in his doorway. Before Tord or Edd can say a word, two swooshes of brown blast past Edd and tackle Tord to the ground. Edd blinks, holding in a laugh as he sees Tord’s predicament. Both Paul and Patryk are in the forms of wolves on top of Tord, licking his face and wagging their tails as they bark in delight. Tord struggles beneath the wolves, growling and shouting muffled protests as Edd watches, eternally amused. It serves the Norwegian right for always teasing Edd.

“You stupid dogs! Off of me!” Tord orders, finally regaining his breath. At once, both werewolves backpedal and sit like domestic dogs before the young Nordic, still looking excited to see him. “And stop that tail-wagging! You both look ridiculous.” Both wolves stop wagging their tails in perfect sinc.

“At least you know they care,” Edd teases, only to get the mother of all death glares from Tord. He swallows, remembering the fact that he still has no idea what Tord is- he could probably tear him to pieces. “Yeah, okay, shutting up now.”

Tord nods, before standing up and brushing himself off. Paul and Patryk stare with great fondness, slowly but surely getting in a few tail wags when Tord isn’t looking. “Alright, so what are you two idiots doing in Edd’s place, huh?” Tord asks, addressing the werewolves. “Were you two waiting for me?”

Patryk and Paul both nod, before shifting back into humans, still thankfully wearing boxers. “Yes, sir!” Paul replies, saluting Tord with his index and middle fingers separated. “We have a request for you and Blue Leader.”

Tord rolls his eyes, not at all amused. “He prefers Tom now, Paul. Just as I prefer Tord. There is no need to address either of us as you once did,” Tord then straightens, putting his hands on his hips. “Now what do you need? A couch? I swear to Satan, if either of you destroyed another couch, I will send you both to Hell.”

“No, sir, it’s nothing like that,” Patryk assures, stepping into the conversation. “Paul and I simply wanted to ask if you would like to join us during our camping trip next moon.”

“Camping? With you two?” Tord questions, looking ready to refuse, but Paul and Patryk shift back to wolves in a flash, putting their ears back and whining pitifully. Tord groans, shaking his head in exasperation. “Fine!” He shouts, earning two happy barks from the wolves. “But I’m bringing Edd and Matt with me.”

At once, Paul begins growling, causing Edd, who’s been keeping quiet this whole time, to back off a few steps. Tord, amazingly enough, bops Paul on the muzzle, shutting the wolf up in an instant. “You hush now! Matt is coming, whether you like it or not, or I will not attend.” Tord explains, making it very clear who’s in charge.

Paul and Patryk share a look, growling and short-barking to each other before they both nod to Tord in unison. “Then it is decided. Edd, Matt, Tom, and I shall go with you both on your little camping trip,” Tord announces, before stepping aside. “Now both of you git; you have caused Edd and I enough trouble for one day.”

The werewolves take off at once, barking and yapping the entire way to the stairwell, obviously preferring the stairs when in the forms of wolves. Slowly, Edd approaches Tord, looking very confused. “I have… so many questions.” Edd deadpans, still shocked by the whole experience.

Tord sighs, nodding his head in defeat. “Go ahead, egghead. Ask what you will.”

“Why did they call Tom ‘Blue Leader’ and you ‘Red Leader’?” Edd asks first, giving Tord’s red hoodie a quick glance. “Is it because of your hoodie?”

“That is a long, complicated story, friend,” Tord replies, looking tired as he walks past Edd and lies on the couch, looking worn out. He probably had the wind knocked out of him when Paul and Patryk tackled him. “I’d rather not go into detail about it.”

Edd nods his head in understanding. “Alright then… so why doesn’t Paul like Matt?”

Tord laughs at this. “Really? Haven’t you ever watched those Twilight films? The rivalry of werewolves and vampires is no wives tale, friend,” Tord explains, putting his arms behind his head to get more comfortable. “Werewolves and vampires have been warring for centuries, and while their battles have become less popular these days, the animosity of ‘Pure-Borns’ is still rather strong. And, before you ask, a Pure-Born is a supernatural creature that is born to two of it’s kind. A Half-Born is either the child of two different breeds of monsters, or the child of a monster and a human. Blood-Borns are… well, they’re artificial. They weren’t born into it.”

Edd’s mind does theoretical backflips as he processes the information. After a moment, he seems to get it all under control. “So… what born are you?” Edd asks, after contemplating his question.

Tord raises an eyebrow, before letting out a loose chuckle. “I’m as pure as they come… well, as pure as one can come of my kind.” He laughs loudly at his own private joke, confusing Edd. 

“I… really don’t get it,” Edd admits. Matt has been telling him to let them know when he doesn’t understand something monster related; he thinks it might help Edd get used to everything faster. When Tord simply continues to laugh, Edd huffs, rolling his eyes. “Whatever. So I guess Matt and I are going camping now?”

Tord gets it under control, after a few wheezes, and he nods, confirming Edd’s question. “It seems you will be. Truly, I did not intend this; my hope was that those mutts would back down. However, I underestimated their… _doggy charms_ ,” Tord leaves it at that, again not specifying what he means to Edd. “But I suppose a camping trip will do us little harm. I’m sure Tom would appreciate the chance to let loose… though he will certainly not appreciate the company,” He yawns, rolling onto his side on the couch. “I am very tired now, Edd… leave me be until supper is served.” With that said, he passes right out.

Edd huffs, before taking a seat on the couch with Tord, carefully maneuvering the Norwegian’s legs to lie on his lap. Edd smiles halfheartedly at Tord’s sleeping form; he looks so peaceful when he’s not yelling, complaining, and making a fool out of himself. After a moment, Edd pulls a blanket that had previously been hung on the back of the couch over Tord, tucking the Norwegian in. Edd turns on the TV afterwards, listening to Tord sleep while he waits for Matt to get home. He never notices the sleepy smile on Tord’s face.

…

“Er, friend, may I have a moment of your time?” Tord is standing in the doorway to Edd’s bedroom, looking unusually shy behind the cartoonist.

Edd turns around in his chair at his desk, raising an eyebrow at Tord. “Um… yeah, sure. I guess so.” He agrees, motioning for Tord to sit on his bed.

Tord nods, before taking a seat. He fiddles under Edd’s stare, appearing almost… embarrassed. It’s an emotion Edd isn’t used to seeing on the Norwegian. “Edd, I must ask of you a favor,” Tord begins to explain, refusing to look directly at Edd. “You see, it is Tom’s birthday tomorrow, and, well… he no longer tells me of his interests, nor his preferences. I dearly wish to give him something he would actually enjoy for his birthday, however, he rarely ever talks to me other than to argue… I must ask you for your help, Edd.”

Edd considers Tord, before digging into his own thoughts for something Tom might want. Edd of course knows that the kid likes alcohol and music, but Edd isn’t sure what brands and bands he likes. Maybe a new bass? No, Tom loves his current bass- Susan- like she’s his own daughter; he’d never want to replace her. Suddenly, Edd’s find flashes back to many months ago, during his first month in the apartment complex. He remembers going shopping with Tom, how he had demanded to stop at the pet store and play with the- Edd grins, hopping out of his chair to face Tord, who looks very confused by Edd’s sudden enthusiasm.

“I have an idea, Tord,” Edd promises, grabbing Tord by the wrist to lead the taller man to his destination. “Trust me; Tom will be the happiest man alive.”

…

“Edd, I am not so sure that this is a bright idea,” Tord admits, giving the kittens in the shelter a slightly frightened look. “You have seen how your familiar reacts to me, yes? Felines of any kind do not normally get along with one of my… specific heritage.” He leaves it at that, not specifying what that exactly means to Edd.

Edd shrugs, giving Tord a confident smirk. “I promise you, Tord; Tom wants a kitten more than anything else. You should’ve seen how happy he was when I brought him here a few months back. I really think a cat would be a nice addition to your apartment.”

Tord still seems unconvinced. “Well… if you are so sure,” He mutters, reaching his hand towards the kittens. It’s ‘Cat Adoption Day’ at the shelter, so they’re in a basket, allowing potential adopters to hold the felines. As Tord reaches for the kittens, they all hiss and run into the farthest corner of the basket, hiding away from Tord. The man sighs in response. “You see, friend? Cats and I do not see eye to eye.”

“Here, let me try,” Edd offers, taking Tord’s place in front of the basket. “Here, kitty kitty kitties.” He calls, putting his hands into the basket to attract the kittens to him.

At once, Edd’s hands are covered in kittens, the felines all battling to be chosen by the wizard, sensing his magic. Out of the corner of his eye, Edd sees Tord's eyes widen. When he looks down at the mass of fluff, he sees a faint glow from underneath where his hands are. Edd laughs, it coming out more nervous-sounding than usual, as he looks them all over, lifting them one at a time to decide which one Tom would love the most. They’re all adorable, but Edd needs to be certain. Suddenly, Edd’s hands start to glow a faint blue- he thinks of Tom’s laugh, of his rare yet contagious smile, and the stains on his hoodie that he refuses to wash out.

One of the kittens- an orange and white little runt- curls into Edd’s open palms while the other kittens steps back. Edd’s eyes light up, and the blue dies down, until his hands are back to normal again. A dizziness fills Edd’s head as Tord, at the sidelines, begins to quietly clap. “Nice trick there, wizard,” Tord comments, smirking at Edd. “And here I thought you were all energy and no spark.”

Edd shakes his head, trying to rid himself of his dizzy-spell. “What… was that just now?” He questions, a light pounding in his head as he picks up the chosen kitten.

Tord smirks, patting Edd on the shoulder, ignoring the kitten’s pitiful little hiss. “That, my friend, was magic. I am not so certain of the spell’s specific name, but if I had to guess, I would say that it is a variation of a wizard’s Familiar Seeking spell. You thought of Tom when your hands glowed, no?” Edd nods, and Tord nods back in agreement. “You see? You channeled Tom’s energy into your own, and sought for him a companion among these kitty-cats.”

“Will Tom be okay?” Edd asks, worried that somewhere right now, Tom may be suffering from Edd taking his energy from him.

Tord laughs, shaking his head. “Tom will be fine, knucklehead,” He assures, patting Edd roughly on the shoulder. “He may feel lightheaded for the slightest of moments, but rest assured that he will not be hurt by your small sample of his energy.”

Edd breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God,” He murmurs, holding the little kitten against his chest. “Well… let’s get this little guy home. I know a certain punk who’d LOVE to meet you!”

…

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM!”

Tom remains unimpressed in the doorway to his and Tord’s apartment. Edd sighs, a little disappointed from his hiding spot behind the couch. “Aw. Weren’t you surprised?” Edd asks, looking just a little bit hopeful.

Tom huffs, rolling his eyes in irritation. “I’m not exactly a birthday kinda guy, Edd,” He explains, taking a swig from his canteen. He smiles though, just for a second. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

“The cake is done!” Matt calls from the kitchen, bringing it into the living room. “I see our birthday boy is here. Happy birthday, Tom-Tom!”

“Shut up,” Tom orders, but he’s still smiling a little. He glances at the cake, looking relieved. “Thank God that cake isn’t big enough to fit a person. I never want a repeat of last year again.”

“I thought it was pretty creative…” Matt mutters, looking saddened at the memory. “Besides, you can’t deny that I looked good in a speedo!” He smirks, striking a pose in his ‘Kiss Me I’m A Ginger’ apron.

Tom visibly shivers, as if reliving an awful flashback. “Sights like that make me wish I never had eyes…” He explains, before looking around the room in confusion. “Uh… where’s Tord?” He questions, and just for a moment, Edd can hear the legitimate worry in his voice. “I’d guess he’d be in on this, since it’s our place, but…”

“Surprise, knucklehead!” Tord shouts, surprising Tom from behind as he hugs the shorter man, easily lifting him in the hug. “Happy day of birth to you!”

Tom growls viciously, kicking his feet as he’s lifted off the ground. “Tord!” He shouts, voice filled with irritation. “Put me down!”

Tord laughs, carrying Tom to the couch, only to fall backwards onto the furniture, taking Tom down with him. “Well, you’re down now,” The Norwegian offers, smiling against the back of Tom’s head. “Is this low enough for you?”

“Make room for me!” Edd warns, before throwing himself on top of Tom and Tord, almost crushing poor Tom in the process.

“ _DOGPILE_!” Matt screams, setting the cake aside before jumping onto the other boys, his knees knocking the wind out of Tord.

All four men laugh- even Tom- as they lie there in a huge pile, squirming and struggling to stay on the couch. Inevitably, Matt loses his balance and falls to the floor, grabbing Edd and taking him along for the fall. They all lie there in silence for a bit, breathing in sync, before Edd speaks up. “We’re all a little mad, aren’t we?”

Matt shrugs, hugging Edd around the middle. “We’re not mad; we’re mon-” He stops, glancing at Tom, before coughing awkwardly into his shoulder. “Er, nevermind. We’re all great.”

Tom chuckles, shaking his head. “It’s okay to say monster around me, Matt. I know what I am,” A silence follows, before Tom breaks it. “I really hope you guys didn’t throw me a birthday party as an excuse to have a foursome.”

Edd goes bright red, burying his face into his own hoodie. “Oh my God, Tom!” He whines, embarrassed beyond measure. He settles, after a moment, and begrudgingly sits up, crawling off of Matt. He glances at Tord on the couch, winking at him. “You ready to give Tom his present, Tord?” He asks, unable to keep away his smile.

Tord shoots Edd a thumbs up, before crawling out from under Tom, sitting the young brunet down on the couch. “I’ll be back in a moment, love.” He promises. He pauses, going red, before he shuffles away in a hurry. Edd isn’t quite certain who that ‘love’ is directed towards.

Not two minutes later and Tord is back, carrying in a large box with a blanket over it. “Here you go, Tom… happy birthday.” He says, setting the box onto Tom’s lap.

Tom raises an eyebrow at Tord, as well as at Edd and Matt, before pulling off the blanket. His gasp is audible as he reaches into the box, pulling out the orange and white kitten, now wearing a cute blue ribbon wrapped in a bow around it’s neck. “Holy… holy…” Tom’s lost for words, his pitch black eyes the size of saucers. He looks to Tord, too amazed to speak.

“Happy day of birth, Thomas,” Tord murmurs, taking a seat beside Tom on the couch, leaning against the man’s side. “What will you name him, hm?”

Tom squints at the kitten in his hands, before smirking. “Rusty.” He announces, kissing the small kitten’s forehead.

...

It’s six-thirty in the morning a few nights later when Matt gets home, the ginger trying as hard as possible not to disturb Edd, who had previously been snoozing on the couch, with Tom cuddling up next to him, hugging Rusty and Ringo against his chest. Edd cracks an eye open when the door shuts, eyeing Matt. Matt’s eyes glow slightly in the darkness, something that Edd has learned to find comforting during times of uneasiness or stress. The ginger is still decked out in his nurse uniform, though there are more wrinkles now in the clothing than before. Edd sits up, causing Matt to startle like a teenager caught coming home late from a night on the town.

“Hey,” Edd whispers, hand brushing mindlessly through Tom’s messy hair, keeping Tom in a blissful state of sleep. “You’re home late,” He observes, glancing at the clock on the TV’s DVR, before turning back to address Matt. “Is everything alright?”

Matt nods, though Edd can feel his uneasiness from across the room. “Yeah, everything’s just fine,” When this gets a raised eyebrow in response, Matt chuckles awkwardly. “I can never lie to you anymore… no, not everything is alright. The hospital I work at… there’s a… ‘situation’,” He explains, before smiling far too widely at Edd. “But don’t worry! It’s nothing that the hospital and I can’t handle. Everything will be right as rain within a few weeks!”

“A few weeks? Matt, are you sure everything's okay?” Edd questions, very concerned now for his boyfriend. He knows that he’s a worrywort, but he can’t help but feel uneasy, especially since Matt won’t tell him what exactly is wrong.

“I told you, everything is perfectly fine,” Matt assures, coming over to kiss Edd on the forehead, trying to calm the magic user’s nerves. “I’ll be fine, my love. This will all blow over within a few weeks, and it will all be behind us.”

“If… if you’re so sure,” Edd mutters back, before standing up, carrying Tom and Rusty with him, Ringo waking up and running off to Edd’s room (It’s been more like a study nowadays, since him and Matt have become a thing). “I’m gonna take Tom back to his and Tord’s place… he passed out while we were watching a movie again.”

Matt smiles, nodding in agreement. “Better hurry then; Tord will get worried if he comes home and Tom isn’t there.” He warns, his smile nervous and a little scared. Edd hesitates, watching how Matt inches towards the fridge, before he sighs and takes Tom home.

Edd only hopes that Matt’s right… yet he still can’t shake the feeling that something’s _wrong_.

... 

It’s just Edd and Matt for once on the couch. Both Tom and Tord have things to do today, so Matt has agreed to spend the whole day with his boyfriend. Edd is honestly just excited to get some quality time with the redhead, even though he does seem… off.

He keeps fidgeting, Edd notices, like he has something on his mind. The way Matt’s eyes dart around frantically when he thinks Edd isn’t looking, or how he keeps chewing on his hoodie strings and nibbling away at his normally perfectly kept nails, it just isn’t like him. Edd wants to press, trying to find a time where he won’t embarrass the taller man by bringing it up in front of the others (especially Tord, since he is the most notorious for pestering).

Looks like he has a chance, when Matt asks to pause the film they’re watching to use the restroom. Edd wordlessly taps the button on the remote and Matt heads down the hall. When he comes back and sits down and Edd doesn’t turn it back on right away, the taller man looks at the other, perplexed.

“Matt,” Edd starts, not knowing what he’s going to say, but when he looks up into Matt’s eyes- he’s taken aback. Normally, not a single bit of wear shows on the vampire- he’s always appeared perky and completely rested- but on the outer edges of the whites of his eyes, are clearly pronounced red rings. The smaller man reaches his hand out to get a better look, but when Matt flinches, he knows something’s wrong.

“Babe, what’s the matter?” He asks, worried. “Your eyes look so red. Have you not been getting enough rest?” Didn’t Tord say that vampires don’t need rest like he does? 

Matt turns his head away, not willing to look Edd in the eyes. “I’m fine,” He coughs for a moment, hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Really, just a little tired. Work’s been running me ragged, you know?” Edd nods slowly.

He feels like Matt is lying to him, but he can’t be sure. “Well, if you ever want to talk,” The cartoonist pats the other’s shoulder. “I’m always here for you, okay?” Why would Matt be lying to him anyway? They’ve always been so open with each other. Matt returns his gaze finally, and smiles.

“Thanks, Edd. Did you uh, want to get back to the movie?” Matt asks, and Edd nods, leaning his head against Matt’s shoulder as he plays the movie again.

Really, if Matt says he’s fine, Edd shouldn’t worry about him. He thinks this, but he still feels that uncomfortable doubt in the back of his mind, like an itch he can’t scratch.

...

From that moment on, the atmosphere in the apartment is… unwelcoming. It’s not hostile, not really, but Ringo has been so on edge that he won’t sit still for anything, and Edd hasn’t exactly been feeling one hundred percent, either. There’s just something unnaturally frightening about being in the apartment, like Edd is being actively hunted or something... It doesn’t feel safe. As a result, Edd begins spending more time at Tom and Tord’s place, which, honestly, is sorta depressing. There’s only so much unsuccessful, one-sided flirting that Edd can take without wanting to choke either of those jerks.

Edd has also noticed in recent times that Matt has been acting, well, rather strange. The redhead hasn’t been himself lately, acting almost self-conscious when he’s around people. He also hasn’t been going into work, fibbing to Edd that they just don’t need him at the moment. It’s worrying, to say the least. More than anything else, Edd desperately wishes to bring it up to _somebody_ , but Tom doesn’t know much about vampires and Tord is… well, Tord. It saddens Edd as he climbs upstairs, a weight filling his insides, making his footsteps heavy and painful. The cartoonist stops on the twelfth floor, too tired to keep going.

He sits down on the stairs, feeling weary and useless. Edd just wants everything to go back to how it used to be, before all of this hospital business. Just as Edd’s mind begins to wander, he feels a chill run over him, like someone’s watching. Shivering, Edd looks around the stairwell, rubbing his arms in an attempt to regain some much needed heat. When Edd finds nothing, the wizard shrugs it off and, shakily, stands up on his own two feet again, mindlessly walking into the twelfth floor apartment hallway. He curses under his breath as he enters, embarrassed for making such a dumb mistake.

Edd turns, ready to walk out the door and go home, when a large hand lands on his shoulder. Edd screeches, embarrassingly enough, and jumps in surprise before swinging around, arms raised in defense. He blinks, however, when he sees that it’s none other than Patryk. “Greetings, wizard,” The werewolf says, giving Edd a concerned onceover. “Are you alright? You appear troubled. I did not mean to spook you.”

Edd sighs, shaking his head. “I’m fine. Just a little… tired,” He looks away, not daring to meet Patryk’s gaze. He doesn’t need Patryk to worry about him. “I should really be getting home.” He mutters, making to leave.

Patryk grabs Edd’s arm, keeping him there. “Please… why don’t you stay in our apartment, the one Paul and I share? Something is amiss in the complex, and I do not feel that it is safe for Red Leader’s companions to be traveling alone. Come,” He ushers Edd towards the apartment farthest from the stairwell, smiling all the while. “Paul is preparing meatloaf for dinner tonight. You will like it.”

Edd, rather unwillingly, allows Patryk to guide him into the apartment. Edd blinks, looking around in surprise. He had expected the place to be trashed- no offense to werewolves- but the apartment is actually quite nice. Cute, dog themed plates are hung on the walls, along with a few movie posters and family photos. One photograph in particular stands out to Edd- it’s a photo of Paul, Patryk, Tord, and someone who looks like Tom, but his eyes look normal and are an icy blue instead of the completely black ones he's used to. All of the men in the photograph are smiling brightly, looking happier than life. Tord has his arm wrapped around the Tom lookalike, kissing the brunet’s cheek affectionately for the shot.

“Ah, I see you like our family photo,” Patryk comments, once again spooking Edd from behind, noticing how fascinated Edd is in the photo. “Yes, that was taken a few years ago, back when Red Leader was… happier,” He seems solemn as he says this, appearing sad. “Those were better times, friend… Blue Leader was happy back then, too,” He smiles at Edd though, trying to lighten the mood. “But who am I to reminisce? Come, sit. You must be very tired.”

Quietly, Edd follows Patryk’s instructions and sits down on the nearest piece of furniture, it being the sofa. He sighs, watching Patryk leave the room momentarily. Unlike Edd and Tom’s apartments, the kitchen and living room aren’t one big room; Patryk and Paul’s kitchen is separated by a wall and wooden door. Edd looks around more, glancing over the decorations and pictures. There isn’t nearly as much furniture as Edd would’ve thought, and while the place is clean, there are big, brown, muddy wolf paw prints stained into the rug, some of them looking fresher than others. Edd smiles at the sight of such a well lived in apartment, before he lies back more into the couch, feeling drained.

“Hey,” Edd jumps in surprise at the sound of Paul’s voice, swinging around on the couch to stare at the gruff man. “Sorry,” Paul murmurs, looking honest to God regretful. “You want a drink?”

“Um… you got any Cola?” Edd asks, smiling when Paul nods in confirmation. “I’ll just take a coke then, please.”

Paul nods, leaving and then returning with a can of cola. He hands it to Edd, staring at him with an intensity that makes Edd… uneasy. “Is something wrong?” Edd finally asks, giving Paul a worried look.

The werewolf shrugs, taking a seat on the couch beside Edd. “You smell feral,” Paul deadpans, squinting at the cartoonist with a certain level of caution. Edd shivers, remembering how big Paul is in his wolf form. “Wizards… I do not think they go feral,” Paul continues, inching just a bit closer to Edd, sniffing at the man. He snarls, looking enraged. "Предательская вампира." He whispers, growling low in his throat.

“Paul?” Patryk is standing in the kitchen doorway, brow furrowed as he considers the other werewolf. “What do mean by that? What’s going on?”

Paul, instead of answering Patryk, jumps off the couch and takes off down the hallway. He’s back not two minutes later, in the form of a wolf as he carries a small box in his mouth. The wolf drops it onto Edd’s lap, changing back into a human to kneel in front of the wizard. “Take this,” Paul orders, looking Edd dead in the eye. “Use it only if you must.”

Edd swallows, opening the box to find a tiny, glass bottle labeled ‘Holy Water’. His eyes widen at the sight, turning to Paul with an accusing look. “Are you… are you telling me to hurt someone in the building with this!?”

Paul shakes his head, the smallest bit of a smirk showing on his face. “No. If your… significant other ever tries to harm you- please, wizard… drink that. It will protect you.”

Edd, very hesitantly, nods, placing the bottle into his hoodie pocket. Patryk then steps in, one hand on Paul’s shoulder to calm the other wolf. “Dinner’s ready,” Patryk explains, flashing Edd a worried smile. “I really do hope you like Paul’s cooking… he’s very good at it.” He ruffles Paul’s head at that, making the gruff werewolf smile, his head pressing into Patryk’s hand.

Edd watches, feeling… left out. It’s been ages since Matt’s been so gentle with him like Patryk is with Paul, but nowadays… Edd sighs in defeat, shaking the thought away. Things will get better. They have to.

...

“Come again soon!” Patryk urges, opening the door for Edd. “Paul really enjoyed spending time with you… he can be a bit gruff at first, but it’s just paranoia. He likes you a lot.” With that, the werewolf waves one last time, shutting the door behind Edd.

Edd smiles, waving at the closed door before beginning his walk to the stairwell. For whatever reason, this floor of the building makes Edd feel… scared. The lighting here is dimmer and less welcoming, putting the magic user on edge. Edd stops at the next apartment door, feeling an odd sense of Deja Vu when he sees it. Edd glances at the doorknob, shrugs, then begins to walk towards the stairwell again. However, as Edd reaches the door to the stairs, a great chill overcomes him, like he’s just opened a large freezer. The wizard stops dead in his tracks, shivering like a leaf as he rubs his arms, trying to warm himself up.

“Oh… sorry,” A voice says, and Edd jumps, looking around. No one’s there. “Oh, how silly of me!” The voice continues, laughing under it’s breath. “I haven’t even introduced myself!”

That chill returns tenfold as Edd turns around, eyes widening in both horror and amazement as a short, blue phantom appears before him. “Hello!” The ghost greets, grinning at Edd. “I’m Jon! You’re Edd, right? The wizard?”

Edd swallows, shaking slightly in front of the spirit. “Um… hi?” He offers dumbly, feeling uncomfortable in front of the ghost. “Do you... Live here?” Is it rude to say ‘live’ to a ghost?

Jon nods, pointing at the apartment Edd had previously been fascinated by. “I live with my friends in there,” He explains, before turning to the apartment. “Hey, guys! Come meet my new friend!” He beckons, floating over to stand- er, hover?- beside Edd.

“Jon? What’s going on?” A man steps outside the apartment, looking towards Edd and- oh God, he’s in pieces! Holy fuck!

“Your arm!” Edd screams, horrified by the fact that the man before him is holding one of his arms nonchalantly.

“Huh?” The guy blinks, before looking to his detached arm. He laughs, grinning. “Oh, this? Don’t worry, kid. Eduardo was just patching me up. I’m an Undead, see?” He waves the disconnected arm at Edd, laughing when Edd pales. “So you’re the one Jon was yelling about? The name’s Mark, kiddo. Good to meet ya!”

“What’s all the racket?” Out from behind Mark, another man steps out of the apartment, glaring at Edd when sees him. “Who the Hell is this guy?”

Edd stares at the man with wide eyes, taking in his appearance. This man, like Jon, glows, but he’s certainly not a ghost. His skin is a sickly, mutant green that glows. Just being near the guy makes Edd’s inside twist in discomfort, like the guy is poisonous or somethin. The stranger wears a green, button-up, long-sleeved shirt, with brown Dad-pants to accompany it. The stranger’s eyes are critical as they look over Edd, untrusting and irritated. “Eduardo! Be nice!” Jon scolds, snapping Edd out of his trance. “This is my new friend; Edd!”

Eduardo blinks, unimpressed. “Jon, shut your ass up. And you,” He looks Edd up and down, before he grabs Mark’s shoulder, pulling the zombie back into the apartment. “You stay away from my friends, got it? Come on, Jon. Quit hanging with this lowlife.”

“Aw…” Jon whines, disappointed. He turns to Edd, expression apologetic. “Sorry, Edd. I gotta go,” He brightens, however, beaming at the cartoonist. “But don’t worry! I go everywhere in the building; I can visit anytime you like!”

Edd smiles a bit at that, comforted to see such a friendly face. It’s a welcome change from most everyone else in the building. “I appreciate that,” Edd replies, smiling at Jon. “You can visit me later, if you want.”

Jon nods, looking happier than anyone Edd’s ever seen. “That sounds perfect. Bye, Eddy!” He hugs Edd- well, he tries to, but his arms go right through him- before he melts into the wall, disappearing into his apartment.

“Hey,” Edd stops, remembering that Eduardo’s still watching. The wizard stares at the man, giving him a cautious look. “I meant what I said, kid,” Eduardo promises, his tone threatening and aggressive. “You stay away from my friends… I ain’t letting another ‘accident’ happen, ya hear me?” With that, he slams the door shut.

Edd stands there, completely confused. What was that for? Another accident? Edd sighs, shaking his head in defeat. It’s just another thing he doesn’t understand. Defeated, the cartoonist walks back upstairs to his apartment, going to bed for the night.

Tomorrow is another day.

…

“Sounds to me like you have a lot on your plate,” Jon comments, hovering in a sitting position beside Edd on the couch, the ghost’s voice laced with concern. “Have you talked to anyone else about this?”

Edd shakes his head no. Ever since he’s met Jon, the ghost has become a sort of confidant for him, visiting whenever Matt is hidden away in his room and Tom and Tord are busy. “Naw… all of my friends have been so busy lately, and Matt won’t even talk to me anymore,” The man explains, feeling sadder and sadder with every word he says. He puts his head in his hands, sighing. “I don’t know what to do, Jon. I love Matt unconditionally, but he keeps pushing me away… am I doing something wrong?”

Jon hums, giving the man a small smile. “Maybe you should tell Matt about this? Even if he doesn’t say anything back, you can just talk to him. He’ll listen eventually; that’s what I do with Eduardo! Sometimes people just have a hard time expressing their feelings… I betcha Matt is just having a stroke of bad luck.”

Edd sighs, giving Jon a sad nod. “I guess you’re right… thanks, Jon. I can always count on you for advice nowadays.”

Jon grins at that, the blueness of his spirit brightening in appreciation. “Now, I’d love to stay and have a laugh, but Eduardo is probably worried about me by now… he doesn’t like me being around other people.”

Edd scowls at that. “It isn’t right of him to isolate you like that,” Edd points out, offended by Eduardo’s possessiveness. “You should be free to talk to and visit whoever you want.”

Jon chuckles, shrugging it off. “Oh, Eduardo just doesn’t want me or Mark getting hurt again,” He explains, like it’s nothing out of the ordinary. “That’s why he’s so protective of me and mean to you; he’s just scared that I’m gonna get hurt.”

Edd nods, accepting this answer. “I suppose he has his reasons… thanks for dropping by again, Jon. I appreciate it.” He promises, waving Jon off as the ghost disappears into the floor, returning to his own apartment.

Once Jon’s gone, a door down the hall opens, and out comes Matt, wearing thick sunglasses. The vampires stands in the hallway entrance awkwardly, looking anywhere but directly at Edd. “I-Is he gone?” He questions, appearing nervous.

“Uh… yeah. Jon just left,” Edd confirms, causing Matt to sigh with relief. The cartoonist raises an eyebrow, concerned. “What’s with the sunglasses, babe?” He asks, deciding that it might be best to ask now while he has the chance.

Matt visibly jumps, surprised to be questioned by Edd. He soon recreates his resolve though, swallowing around a lump in his throat. “I-I’m fine, Edd, really, there’s no need to worry!” He stutters out, scared.

This only further concerns Edd. “I… didn’t say I was worried. But now I really am. Matt, what’s been going on lately? I’m worried about you because I love you, and I don’t wanna lose you.”

Matt stiffens at that, and Edd can feel something in Matt resonating around him- he doesn’t want this either. So why doesn’t he just stop and hold him again like he used to? “... Matt?” Edd tries, wanting more than anything to get through to him. “Matt, talk to me,” He begs, standing up and walking to Matt, moving to wrap his arms around him. The vampire lurches back, refusing to touch Edd. “Matt, please, tell me what’s wrong!”

“I just… I need some space.” Matt fibs, before running back to his bedroom.

Edd stares after Matt, before hanging his head, disappointed. Maybe Matt really doesn’t love him anymore… the wizard stiffens, glaring at the floor in defiance. No, Matt still loves him; Edd can feel it. He just has to wait, bide his time, and maybe, just maybe, he can find a way to fix all of this…

...

It's been a long day, Edd thinks as he trudges up another flight of stairs. He’d planned on going grocery shopping for himself today, but when both Tom and Tord mentioned how busy they were that week, he had offered to go for them as well. Big mistake on his part. It took him hours to find all the specialty shops he needed to go to for the bulk bags of beef jerky that they both loved, and he should have assumed that grocery shopping for Tord also included a trip to the hardware store so he could get some more things to tinker with.

Not to mention he still had to go to a regular grocer for himself, so his entire trip out took a lot longer than he’d expected. A text from Matt when he was on the way home confirmed that his boyfriend had to dart off quickly before he came home, so Edd wasn't able to spend any time with Matt today either (Not like that was new or anything). Finally though, he was returning home with his arms full of very heavy bags, huffing and puffing up the stairs. Because the elevator was broken. It was just that kind of day.

He's most of the way up, only one last flight to go and then he's finally on his floor. He hears a couple shouts above, so he quickens his pace to get to his floor, but before he can get to there, two tall and shadowy figures appear on the top of the stairs. Edd doesn't recognize them at all.

It's hard to make out any facial features on them, due to the light (or lack thereof), the only thing he can really see are their glowing, neon eyes. They remind him of Tord's in the way that they shimmer, so he assumes they must be friends of his. Before he can greet them though, they're pushing past him down the stairs, and as they pass, he gets a sickening feeling that makes his stomach turn.

He heaves, finally hauling himself over the last couple of steps to his floor, and stops dead in his tracks at the top. It takes a lot to not expel his stomach's contents at the sight..

Tord is slumped along his own door, unconscious and breathing raggedly. The usual red hoodie he wears is torn and tattered, and the right arm of the article is completely missing. Tord’s arm is covered in scratches and bites, almost completely red from the blood that oozes from the cuts. His face looks like it also has its fair share of wounds, but with Tord’s head lolled forward like it is, it’s hard to tell how bad he’s been beat up.

Even more surprising, though not upsetting like his injuries, are some of Tord’s altered features. From each of his temples sprout curved horns that resemble a ram’s, as black and shiny as obsidian. Tord’s hands have long, sharp claws, and a mix of feathers and scales cover them all the way down to the elbow. A long, slender tail lays limply by his side, fluffy tip curled around his ankle.

After a moment of taking in the Norwegian’s appearance, Edd drops all the bags in his hands, running to the slumped figure’s side. He take’s Tord’s face in his hands quickly, attempting to assess the damage and rouse his friend from unconsciousness.

As soon as Edd’s fingers touch his cheeks, Tord’s eyes snap open, pupils squared like a goat's and the red irises glowing impossibly bright. He hisses, bringing his clawed hands up in defense against Edd, raking them down the front of his hoodie. For all it’s worth, the smaller man hardly flinches, allowing his clothing to be torn as he just cups Tord’s head. Edd looks softly into the wild eyes in front of him.

“Tord,” Edd tries to say his name to calm him down. “It’s Edd, your neighbor. Tord, it’s gonna be okay. It’s just me,” He repeats himself, assuring the monster in front of him that he’s safe. It takes a few more minutes of growling, thrashing, and clawing, but Tord’s erratic movements slowly begin to die down, the beast recognizing the man in front of him. A new expression replaces the feral anger that was once on his face; fear.

“Edd,” He croaks out, pulling his clawed hands away from his friend, as if he’s touched a scalding fire. “I- I’m sorry, I-” But he’s cut off when Edd pulls him into a hug.

“You’re fine. It’s okay,” Edd shushes Tord softly. “I'm not hurt, but we should probably get you taken care of. Can you walk?”

A glimmer of Tord’s usual smug self flickers in his eyes as he speaks, “Of _course_ I can walk, what do I look like?” He makes to stand but his legs give out under him before he makes any progress. He pouts and refuses to look Edd in the eyes.

Edd snickers, though says nothing as he puts his arm under Tord’s, supporting him as they hobble to his door. “Tord, who did this to you?” Edd feels like he already knows. The taller man does his best to shrug, wincing through the motion. By the time Edd gets the door open, Ringo races out, meowing loudly in agitation. He makes no move to slash at Tord’s ankles, though, which is appreciated by Edd. As soon as both men are inside, Ringo leans over and closes the door with his front paws, then scampers off and makes himself scarce.

After what seems like ages they finally make it to the couch, and Tord lays across the whole thing, but Edd doesn’t protest or roll his eyes like he usually does. “I’ll see where Matt keeps the first aid kit.” He makes to go check the bathroom, but Tord immediately shoots his hand out to stop him. Deja vu.

“No,” Tord wheezes out. “I don’t, eh,” He pulls his hand back, and looks nervous. It’s a day of firsts in regards to interactions with Tord. “‘M not gonna need it. You should just stay here.” He attempts to lift his legs so Edd can sit but the shorter man stays by his side, looking down at the injured man. When Tord gets an annoyed look in his eyes Edd sighs, sitting on the floor next to Tord instead of under his legs. He’s worried that Tord could be lying about needing help.

Tord groans at Edd’s stubbornness, letting his legs fall to rest on the couch and extending his left hand to rest on the smaller man’s shoulder. Edd quirks his brow, but Tord doesn’t meet his eyes.

There’s an almost perfect silence in the air after that, the only sound being the faint, ragged breathing of the man slumped on the couch. The cartoonist attempts to occupy his time by picking at his hoodie strings but he can’t help but let his mind wander. What happened to Tord? The question burns in Edd’s mind as he can only wonder. Even after his encounter with a feral Tom, Tord walked away with no wounds in a matter of a few minutes rest.

Edd glances at the scaly claws on his shoulder. What kind of monster is Tord, anyway? Is it the reason why Tord got beat up? Edd studies the mysterious appendage, and as he looks closely at it he can spot a faint red glow underneath the cracks between scales. Neat.

He kind of wants to touch it, but he’s worried about hurting the Norwegian any more than he already is. He flicks his gaze up, and sees that Tord is staring at him, smirk plain as day on his face. Edd quickly looks away.

“I keep forgetting that I never showed you what I look like,” Tord clicks the claws on Edd’s shoulder together. “I mean, what I really look like. What, with the horns, tail, scales, and feathers. This isn't even the half of it either,” He sighs, and Edd doesn’t say anything, waiting for the other to continue. “I’m a fucking mess.” He grumbles.

“I’m pretty sure I know where the first aid kit is, I-” Tord tuts and cuts Edd off. He shoots the man an annoyed glance at the interruption, but Tord is glaring right back at him.

“How many times do you want me to tell you that your medical supplies won’t do me any good? The best thing you could do for me is to fucking sit on this couch and let me cuddle you,” Edd’s mind stalls at the Norwegian’s words. Perhaps he’d misheard- “You didn’t mishear me, jerk. Just get up here and I'll explain.”

Edd eyes Tord warily, but he complies, wanting to help his friend. He sets himself down on the couch when Tord shifts himself upwards, glowing eyes trained on the young wizard’s movements. As soon as Edd is settled on the couch, Tord lays himself stomach side down on Edd’s lap, letting out a pleased hum at the contact. He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes; just lays there almost completely still, except for the occasional swish of his tail.

“How, exactly, is this helping you?” Edd asks, annoyed and slightly embarrassed. It’s not like they’re in a compromising position, but with Tord being, well, _Tord_ , Edd wouldn’t put it past the taller man to poke fun at him if somebody else walks in.

Tord stretches, shifting his body oh so slightly so another part of his side is in contact with Edd. “Again, you really are a dense guy. I have a kind of healing factor, but it only works when I’m in contact with other people.”

Edd blinks, taken aback by the news. He can’t think of anything that uses contact from others to heal itself, even from the couple of books he had found at the library about mythical creatures and paranormal beings. He sets his hands down on Tord’s back as he thinks and is surprised at the deep, rumbling purr that starts up almost directly afterward. He lifts his hands in alarm.

The man in his lap glares over his shoulder. “Don’t tease, asshole. If you’re gonna put your hands on my back, just do it,” Edd does so and Tord sighs into the touch. “Nnn, thanks,” He looks over his shoulder to shoot a much more grateful look than the one he threw Edd earlier. “So, at this point, I bet you’re wondering what kind of beastie you’re dealing with, right?”

“I don’t think I’d call you a-” But Tord is interrupting him again.

“I’m a demon, numbnuts. An _Incubus_ to be specific,” Edd’s hands lift off of the man in front of him almost immediately at the words and Tord honest to god whimpers. “Dude. Did I tell you to take your hands off my back?”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I know what an Incubus is.” The smaller man knits his eyebrows together with worry. Tord gives him a deadpan expression and just sighs, putting his head in his arms so he can look at Edd without cricking his neck.

“Enlighten me,” He requests, annoyance clear in his voice. Edd stutters, so Tord finishes for him. “I’m not gonna do anything to you, you jerk,” A hint of tiredness is heard in his voice as he speaks. “Not so much into the casual fucking scene as my kin. Prolonged physical contact of any kind works as well as anything else.” He arches his back up into Edd’s hands, still held above him.

When his back lowers Edd allows his hands to go with him, though he’s still unsure. Every book he’d read that mentioned Incubi essentially referred to them as demons of lust. Although… he rubs Tord’s back with his hands absent mindedly as he thinks and Tord’s purring gets louder.

Tord isn't the kind of person who would make any unwanted advances on anyone. Sure, he pokes fun and teases, but Edd’s never seen him actually make someone uncomfortable. Honestly, it was kind of rude of him to just assume that Tord would do anything like that in the first place, especially since they’re friends.

Edd lets himself fall over onto Tord and the man underneath him squirms in response. “Edd.” When he doesn’t respond he gets flicked in the nose by the demon’s tail.

“‘M sorry, Tord.” Edd doesn’t say anything else, and neither does Tord. They lay like that for a while, Tord’s loud, rhythmic purring beginning to lull Edd into a light sleep.

...

Edd isn’t sure how long he’s out, but a soft whisper that he can’t quite make out starts to rouse him. He groans, pushing his head into the pillo- oh. When did he get into bed? Last thing he remembers was Tord and him lying on the couch and... Edd yanks the covers off of him and hops out of bed, immediately rushing to the door. He pulls it open and pokes his head out nervously, looking to Matt's room. His boyfriend's door is open, so he must be out still, or somewhere else in the apartment.

The young wizard tiptoes out of his office, looking for the source of the whispering that woke him up. If those guys he saw earlier were back to finish whatever it was they started with Tord, his friend could be in deep trouble. He makes it down the hall and to the living room, finally spotting Tom and Tord, arguing quietly in hushed tones.

“What the fuck happened?” Tom hisses. The taller of the two has still got his extra features present, and his tail is swishing behind him in irritation. Tord avoids Tom's harsh stare, looking to the floor. “Tord, you look like you got hit by a fucking train.” Tom is clearly trying to keep it together, taking quick sips from his canteen while he speaks. His hands are getting jittery, and the way he winces makes it clear that he’s nursing an awful headache.

“Just a mistake,” The demon attempts to reassure his roommate. “Just a small scrap when I couldn't keep my smart mouth shut. It won't happen again.”

Tom lets out a short laugh despite himself. “Just a _small scrap_? Have you seen the damn apartment? The coffee table is split down the middle and I can see dents from your fucking horns in the fridge, Tord-” Another long swig from his canteen. “You’ve said ‘it won’t happen again’, like, twenty times. It’s kind of defeating the purpose of a ‘last time’. You can't just let these guys just beat you up like this-”

Tord's tail lashes violently, and he steps up close to Tom, looming over him. “Look,” He snarls. “I don't _let_ them beat me up. I don't _let_ anyone do shit. I'm at the bottom of the hierarchy, so there's only so much I can fucking do.” His claws start flexing, like he’s trying to resist the urge to punch the other. Smoke starts to pour out from the cracks underneath the scales on his arms..

Tom huffs in anger, taking an extra long swig from his canteen, tipping it over to show there isn't anything left inside. “How 'bout _you_ fucking look, _Luvart_ ,” Tom jabs a finger in Tord's chest. From the angle Edd's standing, he can't see the Norwegian's face, but he can only imagine how furious he looks right now. “I don't like coming home to a trashed apartment full of blood.”

There’s a lot of smoke now; Edd glances nervously at the smoke detector above him, wondering if he should break up the argument before the fire department comes. He doesn’t decide before Tord begins speaking again. “Do you think I like getting blood all over the apartment? Do you actually fucking think I enjoy getting my ass kicked to the point where I had to get Edd to fucking help me walk?!?” He's shouting at this point, exasperated and furious with Tom.

“Don't interrupt me, dick,” Tom seems unfazed by Tord’s fury. Edd assumes he's intoxicated at this point. “I came home and I had no clue where you were. I had no idea what fucking happened to you, all that was in the living room was blood and broken furniture, and, _fuck_... I just,” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, breathing in and out deeply for a few moments. “ _Fucking hell_ , Tord.”

Tord's shoulders sag a bit and the smoke begins to dissipate. Edd looks on, understanding at the same time the Norwegian does. Tom was worried, scared even, for Tord. The demon puts one of his clawed hands on the smaller man's cheek, rubbing the soft skin there with his scaly thumb. Tom allows himself a moment to sigh and lean into the touch.

“Sorry, Thomas.” Tord whispers again, sweetly instead of scornfully. Edd decides to return to his room before he’s noticed. This isn’t a moment that’s exactly meant for him.

…

It’s a few days later, when Edd feels like it’s okay to bother Tom about the situation he walked in on. He supposes he could probably wait a little longer, but he can’t deny he’s worried for both of his neighbors. He knocks on their door once before letting himself in, just like he’s done for the last few weeks.

“Wait, don’t-” Is all he hears before he’s inside the apartment, staring at a very upset Tom. The smaller man is alone in the living room, holding up a pillow to his face. Despite this, Edd is able to see two, bright purple horns coming from either side of his head, and instead of hands, Tom has huge purple claws that grasp each side of the pillow. Edd just stares, eyes wide for a moment, before nervously approaching the other.

“Tom, are you okay?” He asks dumbly. Tom is probably not okay.

“Uh,” Tom fidgets in his seat on the couch. When he does Edd sees a long purple tail shift next to him. “Yeah. Sure,” His voice is muffled by the pillow he refuses to drop. “You should still go, though. I’ll talk to you later.”

Edd just closes the door behind him and continues to walk into the room. “Are you sure you want me to go? Should I, ah, get you something?” Tom’s shoulders slump in defeat; he knows by now that Edd is stubborn when it comes to helping out his friends. 

“My meds won’t exactly help with this,” He mumbles into the pillow. “I just need to relax,” Edd nods (even though Tom can’t see it) and sits himself on the couch next to him, causing the horned man to jolt. “You really can go, though.”

“I’d rather stay.” He offers, simply. It takes two whole minutes of him sitting there next to Tom before he drops the pillow into his lap with a groan. 

Edd tries not to stare (he fails). Instead of having two regular sized eyes, Tom’s got one big one in the middle of his face. His normal nose is now just two large nostrils underneath, and in his mouth, Edd can see huge teeth when he speaks. “What do you want?” He sounds cross, turning his face to look directly at the young wizard.

“I didn’t know Tord was an Incubus.” He just decides to say what he came here to say instead of make Tom feel more uncomfortable than he already is. 

Tom’s face turns from upset to uncomfortable to concerned in all of six seconds. It’s honestly surprising that he can be so expressive with just one big eye. “Oh,” He mutters, eventually deciding to appear… neutral? It’s a standard Tom expression and Edd is honestly fine with that. “What is it that you’re asking?”

Edd kind of shrugs, leaning back into the couch and looking at the coffee table in front of the couch. It’s new, he notes, remembering the argument from a couple days ago. “I think I might have upset him when he told me. He wasn’t exactly in the best of conditions, though, so…” He sighs, and Tom nods.

“Yeah, he got fucked up,” He leans back as well, kicking his feet up on the new table. “What did you say?”

“I sort of implied that I thought he’d do something just because of what he is? Kind of?” He glances at Tom, who is hardly suppressing a laugh.

The one-eyed man lets a chuckle pass anyway. “Can’t imagine he took that well. He was worried about making you uncomfortable if he told you,” Edd’s eyebrows raise and Tom just narrows his eye. “I can’t believe you’re surprised by that. He cares a lot about you.”

Edd just kind of chokes. On nothing. “Uh,” He stutters, kicking his feet. He knew, or at least a part of him did, that Tord cares for him. That all three of these nerds do. It’s just... a lot to hear a confirmation like that. “Uh.” He’s got nothing. 

Tom’s face softens in understanding, so he just continues speaking, and Edd is thankful for it. “Yeah, he’s an Incubus. He’s Demi, though, so he doesn’t exactly do casual sex,” Tom just shrugs and there’s a brief pause. “He wasn’t, like, in his full-on-demon form when you first saw him, was he?”

“He had horns and a tail?” Edd supplies, but Tom shakes his head.

“But he still looked like Tord?” The young wizard looks at the smaller man in confusion. Tom snorts and tries again. “He still had a relatively human appearance?”

“Yeah,” He extends the word, drawing it out warily. “Does he ever… Not?” 

A quick bark of laughter leaves the smaller man, showing off his sharp teeth. “Yeah, sometimes he looks different. I don’t know if we’ve got any pictures, but…” He stands up and walks over to a small side table next to the television set. He pulls out a huge, worn photo album. Edd quirks a brow and Tom chuckles as he makes his way back to the couch. “Despite what you might think, Tord is really a sentimental old man.”

He flips through the book a few times, whipping up a bunch of dust and musty smells that remind Edd of hours spent looking through his gran-gran’s old books. “Here,” Tom points at a photo. It’s a huge, maybe 8 foot tall monster, with massive feathered wings and a face that reminds Edd of a goat’s skull. Little red lights are in the middle of the eye sockets, and two sets of horns come up from its head (one is the curved set Edd saw the other day, the other pair come straight up, reminding Edd of how Tord’s hair is styled). The beast looks, physically, nothing like Tord, but somehow just by looking at the picture, Edd knows it has to be him.

Besides Tord in the photo, two huge wolves are on their hind legs next to him; all of the beasts seem to be smiling, in a weird way. “Are those big wolves Paul and Patryk?” Tom grunts.

“Yeah, those numbskulls. I can’t believe we’ll have to go camping with them again.” He sighs, but he has the faintest of smiles on his face as he flips through the photo album. More pictures of Tord and the werewolves, and also Tom fill the pages, and Edd can feel his heart tighten at some of them. The four of them look really happy. 

“Tom, what happened between you and Tord?” Edd knows he’s being rude, but… He also knows that Tom and Tord clearly still have affections for each other. Maybe if he knows how bad it got he can help them out? It’s a foolish and selfish thought, but he can’t help himself wanting to try. 

Tom lets out a long sigh, one of his claws coming up to cradle one of his horns lightly. “Tord and I didn’t meet under the best of terms.” He flips through the album and finds a photo of the two of them; Tord has his arm around Tom and they’re smiling wide. “But he really did care for me. Maybe even too much.” A few page turns shows Tord asleep over some blueprints, drooling on them only slightly. “Long story short, I got into an accident, and Tord… Tord got scared.” He gestures to himself, but he doesn’t say more.

Edd pales. If Tom is saying what he thinks he’s saying… Tord might be the reason that Tom is what he is. The reason for Tom’s headaches, sudden transformations, his meds, it all was Tord. “Oh,” That would kind of fuck up a relationship, yeah. He doesn’t know what to say, so he doesn’t. Tom continues to flip through the album though, stopping occasionally when a photo sticks out to him.

They get to a photo of Tord in his half-shifted look, but he’s wearing a mask that looks a lot like his demon form’s head. He’s also wearing a blue uniform over his normal hoodie, and he’s got Paul and Patryk right beside him with the same outfits, but instead of the goat skull mask they’re wearing cheap, dollar store masks that look like cute dogs. All three of them are holding guns. Edd laughs loudly at the image, pointing at it. “What’s the story behind this one?”

Tom shakes his head but he’s laughing, too. “Before Tord and his boys thought to get a real job, they used to rob banks,” He giggles at the dumbfounded expression on Edd’s face. “Honest. Paul and Patryk used to call Tord Red Leader, and then when I got picked up by the gang, they started calling me Blue Leader. God, they were so annoying.” He hums dreamily, getting caught up in the nostalgia of it all. “They still call us that, actually.”

Edd chuckles at the idea of it. Tord busting in, guns blazing and shouting orders, with the other two beside him, snarling behind the cute masks. It’s a both endearing and upsetting image.

The two sit there for hours, looking at photos of the old days. Sometimes Tom will stop and tell a story about one, other times, Edd will ask about them. When they get to the end of the book, Edd looks at the time. “Oh, jeez, I didn’t even realize it was that late!” He goes to get up, but when he looks back at Tom, he’s staring up at him with a weird look in his eyes. 

Eyes. Tom is back to normal; no horns, claws, fangs… When did that happen? “Tom?”

The smaller man doesn’t answer. He just stands and wraps his arms around Edd, burying his face into his shoulder. Edd struggles to use his brain for a moment, arms hanging limply at his sides before he tentatively wraps them around Tom. He says something unintelligible into Edd’s hoodie. “What was that, Tom?”

A long labored sigh from the smaller before he actually speaks. “I’m sorry to bug you with all of this, Edd,” The addressed immediately shakes his head.

“Tom, _I_ came here to bug _you_. Don’t feel like you need to apologize for that.” Edd murmurs softly and threads his hand through Tom’s hair. There’s a brief pause where it’s just the two of them standing there, enjoying their embrace. “I hope you and Tord can find a way to work this all out,” And then Tom’s looking up at him again. His eyes are glossy, like he’s got tears in there, but he doesn’t let any fall. 

A long sniff and he’s got his face buried in Edd’s shoulder again. He thinks he’s upset Tom, and he’s about to apologize for it, but Tom speaks lowly. “I hope we can too,” Edd nods. 

He doesn’t end up going home until a few hours later, when Tord is finally home and he finds both Edd and Tom, laughing on the couch while watching some kind of dumb sci-fi movie.

…

It’s not three days later that Matt seems to do a complete 180 in personality. It’s honestly worrying, but Edd can’t say that he’s complaining. It seems like Matt is really opening up to him again, being clingy and loving with him, always touching Edd in some way or another. It’s a little discomforting sometimes, but Edd has been so love starved that he doesn’t even think to resist Matt’s clinginess. Lying on the couch, Edd wastes time flipping channels, but he lets out a comfortable sigh as Matt suddenly joins him on the furniture, wrapping his arms around Edd’s middle, his nose tracing the back of Edd’s neck.

“Hm…” Edd hums, melting into Matt’s embrace. “Cuddly today, aren’t we?” He comments, running his hands over Matt’s hands.

Matt doesn’t respond vocally; he just starts kissing and licking the back of Edd’s neck, where hair meets skin. Edd stiffens, that nagging voice in the back of his head reminding him of his boyfriend’s condition. “Matt… slow down, will ya?” Edd murmurs, feeling unnaturally tired all of a sudden. When Matt doesn’t stop, Edd raises an eyebrow. “Matt, seriously. Stop. I’m not into it right now,” Still, Matt doesn’t hesitate; in fact, his teeth start to just barely trace over Edd’s neck. “Matt! _Stop that_!” Edd shouts, beginning to struggle. The taller man’s arms tighten around Edd.

Suddenly, Matt’s teeth sink into Edd’s neck, making the wizard screech in pain and horror. The cartoonist struggles now with a tremendous vigor, but it’s no use. Edd can feel his consciousness slipping away, but just as he thinks he’s about to pass out, a loud, deafening crash shakes the apartment and Matt drops him. Edd rolls off the couch, crawling as far away from Matt as physically possible. Edd turns, once he’s a good distance away, to a surprising sight. Tom is in his monster form, having crashed through the wall separating Edd and Matt’s hallway from Tord and Tom’s living room. The mighty beast that Tom has become roars, pinning Matt to the floor.

Matt changes as well, turning into his bat form, though Edd can see the red-hot anger in his eyes as the vampire tries to fight Tom off of him, but Tom makes up for Matt’s skill in combat with his own brute strength and size. Behind Tom, Tord leaps over his shoulder in full demon form, aiming his horns at Matt’s skull, trying to knock him out. It doesn’t quite work, as Tord misses by a few inches, tackling the floor beside Matt. He makes a dent in the floor, and Edd can hear the residents downstairs dropping things and cursing in surprise. Edd’s ears are ringing as he sits up from the ground, observing the fight that rages in front of him.

“Look out!” A voice shouts, and Edd scrambles away just in time to see Matt leaping at him, the vampire having wriggling out of Tom’s hold.

Edd turns, seeing Jon, but doesn’t say a word to him as he takes off down the hallway, managing to squeeze past Tom (Who’s thankfully distracted by Matt and Tord) and slip into his bedroom. Matt tries to follow after him, but Tord catches him by one of his wings, keeping the bat away from Edd. The wizard closes and locks his study door in a rush, hyperventilating as he struggles not to fall into a panic attack. He steps back from the wooden door, hearing the monsters beyond it scratching and fighting, all of them possibly coming for his head. Jon melts through the wall, joining Edd by his side in the study.

“Edd? What’s going on out there? Why are all your friends fighting!?” Jon asks, terrified. “Oh, Edd, what are we going to do?”

Edd swallows, looking left and right, until his eyes land on the box Paul gave him. The holy water… it can protect him. But what about the others? What if it hurts them? Edd shakes like a leaf as he grabs the box, fishing out the tiny bottle of holy water. “I… I can’t do it,” Edd murmurs, turning to look at the door, the scratching beginning to louder. “I could hurt them… b-but I have to do _something_!” He struggles to think of a solution to the difficult problem in front of him: assure his own safety but potentially hurt the people most important to him, or find another way.

He’s frantic, but in a flash, Ringo is next to him, meowing with concern. Edd picks up the cat, looking deep into his emerald eyes. “Ringo,” He gulps. “Ringo, if you’re my familiar… Like they said you are… You’ve got to have an answer! I need your help, buddy.” Ringo mews, tapping his forehead against Edd’s, and suddenly, everything seems clear, his hand opening the holy water and bring it to his lips to drink down. He feels himself shake as he sets Ringo down, mind echoing with nothing.

Everything is dark, except for the words filling his mind.

Edd remembers them so well, as if the chant is his own name… “Protect with light that is pure,” He looks to the door, before walking outside, despite his own fears. At once, all of the monsters pause, staring at him in confusion. “Protect through night and day. Protect from harm, protect from negative energy,” He focuses his power on them, filling his mind with memories of them all, laughing and wrestling and poking fun. He clears his throat, ready. “This shield cannot be broken. So mote it be!” Edd then swallows down the holy water, finding that it tastes like nothing in particular.

A light fills the room, and Jon disappears in a flash of panic, too scared to stick around. Edd collapses, feeling his insides twist and burn. Is this… is this magic? Edd writhes on the floor, shaking and screaming, but no amount of yelling will take away his pain and suffering. He hears the door swing open nearby, but he pays it no mind, too exhausted and wasted. Fingers brush Edd’s cheek, before leaping back, as if fearing that they’ll be burnt. A brief murmur is heard, before the fingers return, brushing through Edd’s hair as he struggles to contain himself. He can feel it in his heart; he could blow them all apart… but he refuses.

“Edd! Edd, can you hear me!?” Tom’s voice rings through Edd’s brain, and he cracks an eye open, seeing Tom clad in only his boxers, along with Ringo trying desperately to get at Edd. “Oh, thank Christ,” The younger boy whispers, tears in his eyes as he lets out a nervous laugh. “Edd, I… I thought we were losing you there.”

“I told you that he’d be fine, knucklehead,” Tord comments from the sidelines, also only wearing his boxers, but there’s a small smirk on his face and a dampness in his eyes. He’s worried, too. The demon pauses, taking note of the empty bottle by Edd’s hand. “Holy water? Paul must have given it to you, yes?” He doesn’t wait for a response from Edd before he smirks a little wider. “It’s a good job that he gave you that; consider that his way of saying he likes you.”

Edd breathes- in and out, in and out, in and out- regaining his composure. “Where’s… where’s Matt?” He feels tears rush down his face, making him cough. “Please tell me you didn’t…” He can’t even finish his sentence, too afraid that he’s already lost him.

“He’s alive, thanks to you,” Tom explains, suddenly looking very pale and ashamed. “I didn't have control… I would’ve killed him if you hadn’t used that spell. One second I was just… so angry, but then all I could think about was that dumb birthday party, and how happy we all were… I was okay again.”

“Where is he?” Edd demands to know. He tries to sit up, but Ringo hops onto his chest, keeping him down. “Ringo, down! I have to help Matt!” He begs, trying to get Ringo to leave him alone, but his familiar stays put, too protective of Edd to let him get hurt.

“Calm down, my friend,” Tord urges, coming to kneel by the wizard’s side. “Matt is perfectly fine; he is resting for a time in the living room. He’s been blood deprived… that clot-sucking idiot just didn’t tell anyone,” He scowls, angry at Matt, before his face softens. “But he seems to have gotten some blood from you… don’t worry, you will not become a vampire. Wizards are unaffected by such things.”

Edd swallows, nodding in confirmation. “If you’re so sure… what do we do now?”

Tom shrugs, before letting out a yawn. “I dunno… sleep, I guess,” He looks to Tord, giving him a concerned look. “Will Matt go feral again?”

Tord shakes his head. “Not anytime soon. He drank enough blood to get back to a somewhat normal level, but we’ll need to get some more in stock… I’ll ask Eduardo later if he has any on hand. For now,” He stretches, lying down on the floor beside Tom, wrapping his arms around the skinny man, bringing him to lie with him. “I believe we could all use some much needed sleep…”

Edd nods, too tired to disagree, and he crawls around to Tord’s other side, willing the demon to hold him close as well. Tord obliges, letting out another yawn before he’s out cold. Edd yawns as well, joining Tord in dreamland as his mind goes quiet.

…

Edd wakes up a few hours later, feeling much better than he had earlier. The wizard blinks his eyes awake, staring up at his study’s ceiling as he feels a warmths press against either side of him. Edd turns his head to right, finding that he’s being held against Tord on the floor, and to his left is Ringo, curled up against his owner’s side. Sitting up, Edd maneuvers around Tord and Ringo, ultimately placing Ringo- who’s still asleep- in the crook of Tord’s arm. He then stands, stretches, and looks around. Edd smiles when he sees Tom also on the floor with Tord, cuddling Rusty to his chest while being held protectively by Tord. They’re cute together, Edd thinks.

Careful not to wake his guests, Edd tiptoes out of the room, feeling a weight drop in his stomach at the sight of the rest of the apartment. To Edd’s left when leaving the room, there’s a massive hole the size of Tom’s monster form at the end of the hallway, opening up to Tom and Tord’s apartment. To Edd’s right, the living room and kitchen are trashed, the couch flipped over and the coffee table split in half. And there, on the floor, Edd sees him- Matt. He rushes to Matt’s side, about to check for a pulse, but he stops himself. Right. The undead don’t have pulses. Instead, Edd cradles Matt’s head in his lap, fingers brushing through his lover's hair.

Matt mumbles something incoherent, before his eyes open, and Edd’s heart melts as he sees those bright blue eyes, the ones he hasn’t seen in what feels like forever. “Hey.” Edd whispers, giving Matt the smallest of smiles.

“Hey,” Matt croaks back, though he doesn’t smile like Edd does. His face is written with guilt, and it makes Edd’s insides ache. “Edd, I’m so sorry, love. I was so stupid… I should’ve told you, but-” He cut off as Edd leans down, pressing his lips against Matt’s.

They stay like that for a time, Edd silencing all of Matt’s attempts to blame himself or apologize with kisses and love filled whispers. “I’ve already forgiven you. You must have been so scared, dealing with that all on your own… I love you, Matt,” Edd murmurs, kissing Matt’s forehead. “And that’s never going to change, no matter what happens.”

Matt smiles, finally, and kisses Edd this time, his eyes lighting up with glee. “I’m glad… I love you too, Edd. Always have,” There’s something odd to Edd about that last part, yet he can’t put his finger on why. “Anyways, we should really go tell the landlord about this…” Matt continues, sitting up with a weak chuckle. “I only hope no one else got hurt…”

“Tom and Tord saved us,” Edd explains, brushing his fingers through Matt’s hair in a comforting manner. “They’re asleep in the other room, all cuddled up together… it’s kinda cute.”

Matt smirks, raising an eyebrow. “Cuddling, you say?” He asks, looking around the floor until he finds Edd’s phone, which he had dropped during the chaos earlier. “Well, Tom and Tord cuddles are such a rare treat… how’s about we save ourselves a memory?” He offers, grinning devilishly as he stands, helping Edd to his feet.

“Oh, most definitely,” Edd agrees, smirking alongside Matt. Together, the couple tiptoes towards Edd’s study, both grinning when they see that Tom and Tord are still asleep. Edd takes the phone’s camera lense, aiming it at the boys on the floor. “Say cheese.” He whispers, flashing a picture.

At once, Tord snaps awake, looking thoroughly confused. The demon looks around, before his eyes land on Tom. Slowly, he turns and sees Edd and Matt in the doorway. The Norwegian glares at the couple, looking furious. “Delete. That,” He growls, and when neither Edd nor Matt moves, he gets onto his hands and knees, ram horns growing from his head. He rubs his palm against the floor, mimicking a ram about to… well, live up to it’s name. “I said; delete the picture.” He repeats, voice angry, but there’s a slight smirk on his face.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” Matt shouts, taking the phone and running into Tom and Tord’s apartment.

“Get back here, you undead, blood-sucking, ginger!” Tord screeches, charging after Matt.

Edd chuckles, before moving into the study, crouching beside Tom. Edd shakes Tom’s shoulder, causing the younger man to slowly wake up, his black as night eyes glossy from tiredness. Tom yawns, before he sits up, holding Rusty against his chest, fingers playing with the fur on the kitten’s tail. “Where’s… where’s Tord?” He asks, looking disoriented.

“He’s chasing after Matt,” Edd explains, and when Tom’s eyes widen in horror, Edd quickly backpedals. “Oh, no, he’s not feral anymore! Matt is just having a laugh is all.”

Tom sighs with relief. “Thank Christ… I never wanna go through that shit again,” He mutters, running a hand through his hair, trying to smooth down the spikes, but it’s no use. “Did I, uh, hurt you or anyone else while I was… rampaging?”

Edd shakes his head, patting Tom’s shoulder. “You’re fine, Tom. In fact, you and Tord saved my life. If it hadn’t been for you…” He doesn’t finish- he doesn’t want to.

Tom nods, allowing Edd to not clarify his meaning. “I guess I’m good for something after all,” Tom admits, smirking at Edd. “Come on; let’s go get me drunk.”

Edd laughs, helping Tom to stand as they walk to the door. They pause in the hallway, eyes on the giant-ass hole in the wall. “Um… should we fix that?” Edd questions, giving the rubble on the floor a critical look.

Tom shrugs halfheartedly. “I mean, we practically live in each other’s places… let’s leave it.” He suggests, leaning slightly against Edd, more for the contact rather than the actual support.

“Alright, but we’re at least going to clean up that rubble later. And maybe make the hole less… of a hole.” Edd mutters, eyeing the hole as he tries to think up a way to make it less unstable.

“Let me get wasted first.” Tom orders, not liking the idea of working anytime soon.

Edd sighs, but nods in defeat. “Fine, fine. I have some Smirnoff in the fridge.” He explains, beginning to walk towards the kitchen.

“Oh my God, I love you,” Tom says, before he goes deathly quiet. He and Edd share a look, before the former coughs awkwardly, appearing uncomfortable. “I mean… thanks, Edd.”

Edd nods, though his eyes linger on Tom. “Uh… yeah, sure thing.” He replies, before hurrying to the kitchen to pour Tom (And maybe himself) a drink.

Today is shaping up to be a very eventful already.

…

Several days pass with little incident, though everyone is still on edge as the camping trip's date swiftly approaches.

All eyes are on Matt 24/7, watching and waiting to see if he'll snap again. Matt improves over the days, his skin returning to it's more natural (if you can call it that) milky hue, with his eyes also regaining their vibrancy. His attitude is still worse for wear though; nearly killing your boyfriend and neighbors can do that to a guy. Nonetheless, life continues on, with a little more... intimacy, one could say, between everyone. There's more cuddling than before, along with more lengthened exposure to one another. Edd can't say he minds the extra attention; he had been so lonely before, the affection is a welcome change.

Matt doesn't seem as open with it, Edd begins to notice over time. It's not that Matt doesn't care for being around Tom and Tord- if anything, he likes them just as much as he does Edd- but he doesn't like being touched as much anymore. Edd can't blame him, as the whole feral ordeal was very hard on Matt, and it's impossible to forget it ever happened, thanks to the gaping in the wall. With the wall pretty much gone between the apartments, Tom and Tord have been visiting more, acting like Edd and Matt’s apartment is a part of their own. And, considering the fact that the landlord hasn’t done anything about it, it probably is.

It’s not until Edd, Tom, and Tord are all lying on the couch watching a movie that the subject of Matt’s rampage finally comes up. “That was pretty crazy, huh?” Tom questions, sounding almost like a philosopher in the near-silent room.  
“It’s not THAT crazy, Tom. She was bound to die next,” Edd explains, thinking that Tom’s talking about the movie. “Really, I thought you knew how these horror shticks went by now.”

“What?” Tom asks, before pausing, shaking his head as he sits up, adjusting Tord in his lap, the Norwegian being fast asleep on him. “No, I mean… what happened with Matt.”

“...Oh,” Edd mutters, sounding lost as he looks away from the TV screen, focusing his attention on Tom. “Yeah, it… it was really something.”

“Most people would’ve left,” Tom points out, all too serious in front of the cartoonist. “I’ve _known_ people who’ve left after shit like that… Hell, maybe you should’ve left, at least, when it was me trying to shred everybody…”

Edd sighs, sitting up and pausing the movie so he can talk to Tom. “Look, Tom, I don’t know what kind of people you guys have met, but… I’m not like them. I don’t care what you guys are, or what happens. I care about you all so much… I can’t imagine life without you all. I don’t care if you turn into a monster, or if Matt drinks blood, or if Tord eats babies. I-”

“-Hold up,” Tom orders, holding up a hand as he raises an eyebrow at Edd. “Babies?”

Edd swallows, nodding. “Yeah… Tord told me he has to. I don’t condone it or anything, but if that’s the only way he can survive, then-” He stops, raising an eyebrow as Tom starts giggling under his breath. “...Tom?”

Tom loses it, kicking his legs and hollering as he laughs at Edd. “Y-You thought-” He can’t even finish, too busy laughing and screaming as he begins to wheeze, waking up Tord as he rolls onto the floor, bringing the demon down with him, causing Tord to cuss and shout in anger. “Holy _shit_! “ Tom screeches, pounding the floor with his fist as he laughs and grins. “I cannot! You ACTUALLY thought he ate… That he eats… _Babies_!” He keeps going, not looking even close to finished.

Edd smiles a little, after a moment, before he’s laughing, too. He probably _had_ been a bit naive to just believe Tord when he had said that, but now that Tom is laughing about it, Edd can’t hold back from joining in. Even though he’s in a sleep-induced haze, Tord eventually catches on and begins cackling as well, although, Edd isn’t so sure he even knows what Tom is laughing about. Soon enough, the laughter begins to die down, and Tom wheezes on the floor, coughing as his throat burns from laughing so hard. Everyone looks up as Matt walks in, the vampire appearing hesitant as he enters the living room.

Slowly, Matt kneels down and hands Tom a juice box, which the brunet takes eagerly, thirsty after laughing so loud. Smiling, Matt stands, taking a hesitant seat on the couch beside Edd. “Hey,” He murmurs, looking almost scared to be near Edd. “I… heard what you said earlier.”

“About the babies?” Edd asks, and Tom spits out a mouthful of juice on Tord (" _What the fuck, Tom?_ "), losing it a second time. He calms down sooner this time, choking almost on his own laughter.

“No, it wasn’t about the… babies,” Matt admits, giving Tom and Tord, who are still on the floor, weary looks. “It means a lot to me that you’d say that, but… you don’t have to feel pressured to stay with me, Edd. I’d understand it if you le-”

Edd cuts Matt of with a kiss, earning some snickering from Tom and Tord, to which Edd flips them off. After a good minute of locked lips, Edd pulls away, beaming as he looks Matt in the eyes. “Matt,” He says, tone serious as he looks at his boyfriend. “I love you more than anything else in this world; I love you to the moon and back. I don’t care about anything else that happens to you or the others,” He glances at Tom and Tord, before he looks at Matt again. “I’m not about to leave anytime soon, Matt. I love you.”

And then they’re kissing again, with Matt actually kissing back this time, needy for more comfort and love from his boyfriend. Tom and Tord exchange a look on the floor, appearing for the first time bashful and embarrassed. “Should we, uh, go?” Tom asks, breaking the silence between he and Tord.

“Yes,” Tord says, sparing the couple on the couch a glance and oh, fuck Matt is pinning Edd, holy shit.. “Yes, we should leave right now, immediately.” He declares, grabbing Tom and practically dragging the brunet back to their apartment through the hole in the wall.

…

“Oh, shit,” Edd says across the table from Matt during breakfast. They’re having blueberry waffles. Matt quirks his brow, taking a sip from his blood pouch before Edd elaborates. “What should we do about Ringo if we’re going camping for a few days?”

Matt raises both eyebrows now, stroking his chin in thought. “Well, I suppose you could leave him with Jon and his roommates, since you’ve gotten to be such chums with him.” But Edd shakes his head.

“I’d rather not leave Ringo with Eduardo; I’m pretty sure that guy hates me,” Edd sighs, poking at his waffle with his fork. “I don’t think we should take Ringo with us, either. I’d hate for something bad to happen… Not to mention how much Ringo can’t stand Paul and Patryk!” Matt nods in understanding, before snapping his fingers.

“What about Missy?” Edd tilts his head in confusion and Matt huffs. “Don’t tell me you haven’t met her! She’s only one floor above us. I remember when Tom had his dog that she took care of her once, so I’m sure if you leave Ringo with her it wouldn’t be an issue.” 

Edd nods. “Yeah, I guess so. I’ll ask Tom about it later; maybe he’s leaving Rusty with her, too?” Matt nods enthusiastically.

“Yeah, you might as well meet other neighbors besides us.” They both laugh, continuing their breakfast together.

...

A few short knocks on the door is all it takes before someone shouts a quick “one second!” From the other side. Edd and Tom have got both their cats in their arms, waiting to meet up with this Missy character that Edd had heard about only in passing. 

“So, what is she, just so I don’t sound rude when I talk to her?” Edd whispers to Tom when they hear a bit of shuffling from the apartment. 

“Necromancer.” Tom whispers, quieter than Edd expected. 

Edd smiles, excited. “Aw, neat! I didn’t know there were other magic users here!” Maybe she could teach the young wizard a thing or two. 

Tom shakes his head quickly, though. “It’s different; you guys don’t have the same kind of, uh,” Tom searches for the proper word, but he’s unable to find it before the door swings open. A girl of approximately the same height as Edd has got one hand on the doorknob, and one hand on her face, adjusting her glasses.

“Uh, hello?” She smiles nervously at the two men on her doorstep, before grinning with familiarity at Tom. “What’s up, Tom?” The smaller man nods for the both of them, for once taking charge in a social encounter.

“Yeah, hi, Missy. How are things?” She smiles and the two have some small talk for a bit while Edd allows his mind to wander. The inside of her apartment is clean, apart from a few papers stacked up here and there. He wonders how different her magic really is from his. 

A small jingle from his feet alerts him to another cat, a tortoiseshell, from the markings, that winds itself around all of their legs. “Oh,” Missy’s voice interrupts his thoughts, and he looks up at her. “Well hey, Pumpkin,” The cat meows calmly, hopping up onto her shoulders in one bound. Ringo chirps in greeting, while Rusty just wiggles in Tom’s arms. “Sorry, you were saying, Tom?”

“You’re fine,” Tom says to the necromancer as he attempts to calm the kitten in his arms. “I was just saying that we’re going on a camping trip for a few days pretty soon here, and if you don’t mind taking care of both Rusty and Ringo here, we’d really appreciate it. We brought them over just to make sure they got along with Pumpkin and whatever other animals were bugging you lately.”

 

She just smiles brightly and nods. “Sure! It won’t be a problem. Not a lot of animals have been showing up lately, actually.” She hums, looking slyly at her familiar. “Though, a few weeks ago there was this fox-” Pumpkin yowls on her shoulder, flicking her tail and knocking the necromancer’s glasses askew. “Ugh, sorry. The story ends with Pumpkin getting her ass kicked by the fox and she hates it.” The tortie just growls slightly, but Missy laughs.

Tom is laughing too, and Edd snorts in amusement. The way Missy and her familiar communicate reminds the young wizard of Ringo and himself; maybe one day the two of them will be able to communicate just as good? He looks down at the cat in his arms and Ringo just purrs. Maybe they already do.

Rusty hasn’t stopped his wiggling, so Tom just crouches down to try and keep him still. Pumpkin hops down and chirps at the young kitten, touching her nose to one of its ears. The orange tabby squeaks, and playfully swipes its paws at the larger cat, causing her to let out a loud purr.

“Looks like they’re getting along already,” Edd notes, pleased that he found such a nice person for Ringo and Rusty to stay with. Missy nods and sticks her hand out, which Edd accepts (after Ringo hops down on the floor to meet Pumpkin as well). 

“It’s cool to meet another magic user,” She remarks as they shake hands in greeting. “How long have you been practicing?”

Edd chuckles. “Not long, actually. Maybe a month or so since I found out I even had the ability.” Her eyebrows shoot up.

“Woah,” She looks down at Ringo, regarding the cat with a new look. “Pretty crazy for the bond you’ve got with your familiar.” 

A small shrug from Edd. “Really? I wouldn’t know.” 

“For sure! In fact, you’re the first-” Before she can fill him in, though, her hoodie pocket buzzes and she pulls out her phone, smiling at the screen. “Sorry, I have a friend coming over soon and I need to get ready. We should talk later, though.” She looks to Tom and nods. “Just text me the details on when I’ll be taking care of Rusty and Ringo, and be sure to let me know if they have any dietary restrictions.” Edd leans down to scoop up Ringo, and Tom does the same with his cat.

“It was nice meeting you.” Edd offers, and she smiles again, a lot less nervous than when she first answered the door. 

“Likewise!” She chirps out before waving and retreating into the apartment behind her. 

Edd and Tom turn towards the stairs that lead to their floor, talking excitedly about the upcoming camping trip and the days leading up to it.

…

A knock on the door. “Fuck, can someone get that!?” Edd hears Tord shout from his room, the demon still packing the last of his things.

“I’ve got it!” Edd assures, hurrying to the door and opening it. He smiles when he sees none other than Paul and Patryk on the other side. “Heya, guys! Come on in; Tord and Tom are still getting a few things together.”

The two werewolves nod, smiling softly at Edd as they walk inside. Both men are dressed in T-shirts and shorts, with Paul’s knees being covered in bandages and Patryk’s looking hairy and undamaged. Edd guides them to the couch, allowing them to sit down while he gets them something to drink. Edd hums to himself as he goes into the kitchen, getting two glasses of lemonade ready for the wolves. Today is finally the big day; the camping trip! Edd is immensely excited about the whole thing, since he hasn’t had a lot of time outside lately, and it’ll be a welcome change from staying in the cramped apartment building as the heat settles in.

“Here you are,” Edd offers, returning to Paul and Patryk with the drinks, the werewolves smiling in appreciation. “Anything else I can get for you two?”

Patryk shakes his head, blushing a little under Edd’s stare. “We’re fine, thank you. Your hospitality is much appreciated. Besides,” He winks at Paul, who bears his fangs a little in excitement. “I don’t think either of us need anything to eat… we’ve been awaiting this hunt for too long to spoil it with regular food.”

Edd nods at that, before casting a glance over his shoulder, towards the hallway, brow furrowed in concern. “I hope the boys are doing alright… Tord mentioned something about needing to pack extra blood and medicine for Matt and Tom. Tom’s also coating himself in bug spray…”

“I am _not_ getting covered in bug bites _again_ this year!” Tom snaps from down the hallway, dragging himself in with sluggish movements, the man appearing overly tired and worn out. He throws an empty can of bug spray to Edd, who catches it. “You might need that, buddy. I don’t care what Paul says, those campgrounds are infested with mosquitoes.”

“They don’t bite me,” Tord admits, walking in behind Tom, slinging an am around the shorter man. “Quite honestly, I do not see the problem, my friend.”

“That’s because mosquitoes don’t eat death,” Tom growls, shooting Tord a nasty glare from over his shoulder. “If you were human, you’d get it.”

“If I were human, I’d be a loser,” Tord corrects, earning a halfhearted punch to the ribs from Tom, but Tom’s smirking nonetheless. “What? You think that is not true?”

“Shut up,” Tom mutters, trying to hide his smirk by looking away from Tord, but the Norwegian follows his face, grinning devilishly at the shorter man. “Fuck off,” Tom adds, biting back a chuckle, but he fails as Tord blows a raspberry on his neck, making the man squeal. “ _Tord_!” He shouts, laughing in surprise.

Edd giggles at the sight, smiling at his friends. Just as that once familiar, jealous-like feeling starts to fill him, the sensation is interrupted by Matt’s arms wrapping around Edd’s middle, the vampire burying his face into Edd’s back. The cartoonist grins, and ignores Paul’s cautious eyes on Matt as he turns around in the hold, leaning up on his tiptoes to kiss Matt on the chin. Out of the corner of his eye, Edd sees Patryk tilt his head and hum, the werewolf turning to kiss Paul tentatively on the cheek. The other wolf freezes, blushing crimson red, and Edd hears Tord snicker behind him; whether it’s at him or Paul, Edd can’t tell.

“Alright, alright. Enough of this domestic nonsense,” Tord orders, pulling away from Tom, yet he keeps his hand wrapped around the shorter man’s waist. “We have a camping trip to go on, yes?”

Paul nods, standing up beside Patryk. “Yes, sir!” He responds, giving Tord a two-fingered salute. “Everything that Patryk and I need is packed and ready. I’ll take your bags.”

“That won’t be-” Tord’s cut off as Paul and Patryk step forward, taking his and Tom’s bags and leaving the apartment to take them to the van. “... Necessary,” He finishes, rolling his eyes at his friends’ loyalty. “Damned wolves and their pack dynamics…” He mutters, following after the wolves with Tom.

Tom stops by Edd and Matt, flashing the two a small smile. “See you outside,” Tom says, patting Edd on the shoulder, seeming to enjoy the physical contact. “You already leave Ringo with Missy? I dropped Rusty off last night.”

“Yeah,” Edd confirms, nodding to the shorter boy. “Ringo wasn’t too happy about leaving my side, but I’m sure he’ll be fine for a few days.”

“Good. See ya then.” Tom replies, heading out of the apartment, eyeing the couple with a serious expression.

“Matt,” Edd looks up at Matt, glad to finally be alone with the vampire. “Are you alright? If you can’t do this, we can always cancel.” He puts his hand on Matt’s cheek, thumb rubbing against the corner of the man’s mouth.

Matt grabs Edd’s wrist, pulling the wizard’s hand away from his mouth. His eyes never leave the scar on Edd’s neck as he speaks. “I’m okay,” He promises, leaning down to kiss Edd on the forehead. “I’m just… I don’t want to get anyone hurt again, Edd. There are a lot of things I’ve done in my life, some of which I can’t share with you yet, but… I just don’t want to see anyone die, Edd.” 

Edd nods, sympathizing with the vampire’s hesitancy. “I understand, Matt. How about this? Whenever you start getting overwhelmed- whether it’s because you think you’re losing control or you just need space- say…” Edd hesitates, trying to come up with a safeword. “How about you say ‘Mirror’?”

Matt smiles, relaxing in Edd’s hold. “That, uh… that sounds really good, actually,” He admits, before pulling away from Edd to grab his things, flashing the cartoonist a small yet hopeful smile. “Are you ready, love?”

Edd grins, kissing Matt one last time on the cheek. “You know it.” He says, before following Matt out of the apartment.

…

“About time you two showed up,” Tord comments, appearing impatient as he shoots Matt and Edd an accusing glare. “What was the hold up, huh?”

“Had to talk about some stuff.” Edd explains, not wanting to go into further detail, if only to protect Matt’s privacy and dignity.

Tord rolls his eyes, shrugging. “Whatever. Just get into the damn van,” He orders, nodding towards a van parked in front of the apartment complex. “You and Matt will have to get in with Tom first; because we have so much luggage I'll have to sit across your laps.”

Edd accepts this, walking past Tord to get a good look at Paul and Patryk’s vehicle. He struggles to hold in a laugh at the sight of the van; it looks more suited for a soccer Mom than two werewolves. The van is a horrid color of vibrant pink, and if that weren’t enough, when Edd circles the vehicle to stand behind it, he sees that the back window and bumper are littered in stickers. The bumper’s decoration mostly being about ASPCA awareness, gay pride, dog puns, and a few others that are too worn out to read properly. In Edd’s opinion, though, the best ones are the decos on the window.

The glass has a whole line of those family decals- Edd’s mom used to have them on the back of her minivan. To an outsider observer, the stickers would probably be very confusing, but to Edd, they’re rather endearing and sweet. There’s two big, fluffy dog stickers, with a little heart sticker above them. Beside the dogs is a tall man with a devil face emoji taped on, though the person seems to have been scratched up a bit with a car key. Beside the demon is another person, this one shorter with a smiley face stuck on top of the regular head, and as if it weren’t cute enough, Edd notices that there are a few new looking stickers, too; a man wearing a cape, and two cute kittens.

“Ah, you like our sticker family?” Patryk asks from behind Edd, causing the cartoonist to jump in surprise. “Yes, Paul and I started it after we met Red Leader. It is very nice, no? I keep insisting to Paul that we add Red Leader’s friend Matt, but…” He trails off, looking away awkwardly. “I believe that Paul still does not trust Matt… especially after the ‘Incident’.”

Edd nods, though he smiles through the tension. “I still think it’s awfully cute,” He admits, giving the werewolf a kind look. “We should get going, huh?”

Patryk nods in agreement, taking Edd’s bags. “Yes, we need to go as soon as possible. The sooner we arrive, the longer we can stay. Get in the car; I’ll put your things in the trunk.” He explains, giving Edd a light push towards the backdoors of the minivan.

Sighing, Edd accepts, crawling into the car. Tom is already in the middle, with Matt on the other side, so Edd sits beside Tom. As soon as he’s buckled in, Tord jumps in like a ferret, the Norwegian laughing obnoxiously when Tom cusses at him and smacks him on the head. “Dickhead,” Tom growls, giving Tord a harsh glare.

Tord laughs, kicking his legs, only to kick Edd in the jaw. “Oh, sorry, friend.” He says to Edd, though he doesn’t sound all that sorry.

Just as Edd opens his mouth to tell Tord off- maybe say something clever- Paul and Patryk get into the front seats, Patryk taking the wheel. “Alright, we’re ready to go,” Patryk confirms, looking over his shoulder as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Anyone need to stop by a gas station for drinks and snacks?”

“I need to be way more drunk for this,” Tom explains, eyeing Tord in his lap with a certain level of irritation. “Yeah… I’m gonna need at least three more drinks before I’m ready to put up with any of you today.”

Matt gives Tom a worried look. “How about we just start with a Red Bull at the most, chum? You’ve been drinking quite a lot lately.” He observes, even though Tom has always been drinking a lot.

“I agree,” Paul says from upfront, before he freezes, realizing what that might entail. “I mean… the decision is up to Blue Leader.” He corrects, looking anywhere but at Matt.

“Don’t call me that,” Tom orders, before leaning against Edd, yawning into the wizard’s shoulder. “I’ll take a freaking Red Bull then… wake me when we reach the gas station.”

“We’re here,” Edd states, just as the van comes to a stop, making Tom growl under his breath. “We live right down the road from a 7/11, remember?”

“Shut up,” Tom grumbles, angry as he sits up in his seat. “Can one of you get me that Red Bull? I’m sort of stuck.” He says, referring to Tord on his lap.

“I could always move,” Tord offers, though he doesn’t make to get up; he just grinds his ass into Tom’s lap, making the man go stiff as a board.

“Keep it PG, mate,” Matt orders, leering at Tord. “I’d rather not sit through three hours of you and Tom getting it on like a bunch of teenagers.”

Upfront, Paul laughs outright, before he goes dead quiet. “Er… I’ll get those drinks. You coming, Pat?” He asks, beginning to get out of the car.

“Sure. You’ll need someone to help you carry everything. Anyone else need anything before we go?” Patryk asks, looking back at the other soon-to-be campers.

“Cola!” Edd cheers, earning an eye-roll from everyone in the car but Patryk.

“The blood of my enemies,” Tord says, but when this earns him a raised eyebrow, he looks away, blushing. “...Or, you know, a strawberry Nesquik… And some bacon jerky.”

“Nothing for me, chap,” Matt explains, giving Patryk a kind smile. “But I appreciate the offer.”

Patryk nods, accepting their answers. “I’ll be right back, then.” He promises, before slamming the door shut, leaving the men alone in the car.

They don’t talk after Patryl and Paul leaves, and Edd honestly doesn’t mind it too much. Tom starts snoozing again, the brunet’s head coming to rest on Edd’s shoulder a second time. The wizard hums under his breath, snaking an arm around Tom’s fraile form, pulling the younger man closer in an attempt to keep him comfortable. Edd sighs, shutting his eyes and leaning against Tom as the morning sunrise lifts in the far distance, shining a warm light in through the side windows. Tord squirms over Edd’s lap, getting more comfortable, the demon sounding just as tired as Edd and Tom.

Matt, quietly, reaches a hand over a places it over Edd’s heart to get his attention, before he settles it over one of Tord’s knees. “Can I, uh, say something, love?” Matt asks, once Edd has cracked an eye open and focused it on him. “I just want to say… thanks for not leaving me, even after I tried to, er, eat you.”

Edd smiles, letting out a wistful sigh as he nods in confirmation. “It’s no problem, Matt… honestly, I can’t imagine my life any different, now that you and the guys are in it. It’s almost like it’s always been like this… ya know?”

Matt nods, grinning at Edd. “I know exactly what you mean,” He promises, before he looks down in his lap where Tord’s head is resting, the Norwegian being fast asleep. “Hey, up and at ‘em, sleepyhead.” The vampire orders, lightly shaking Tord’s shoulder.

Tord groans, shooting Matt an angry glare between squinted eyelids. “Shut up,” He orders, tone tired and more than a little frustrated. “How come Tommy gets to sleep, huh?”

“Tom gets to sleep because he only had two hours of sleep last night thanks to his headaches,” Matt explains, bopping Tord on the nose affectionately. “And besides, I don’t want you drooling all over my lap for the next few hours.”

Tord huffs, looking away and rolling his crimson eyes. “I do not drool. Babies drool,” He says, before he lets out a yawn worthy of a lion, his sharp canines showing from under his upper lip. “At least give me a few minutes, friend.”

Matt hesitates, giving Edd a quick glance. “Just let him sleep for a half hour, Matt. He was helping to take care of Tom last night, remember? He’s just as tired as him.” Edd explains, taking pity on the worn out and lazy demon.

Tord smirks, causing Matt to give him a dirty look. “You see? Even your wonderful boyfriend agrees with me,” Tord comments, giving Edd a small wink of appreciation. “Now quit your yapping; I am very tired.” With that, Tord passes right out.

It’s not even a minute later before Mat starts going quiet, the vampire losing his focus as he slides against Tom, passing out on the kid’s shoulder with a sigh. Edd smiles at the sight, running a hand through Tom’s hair before he too closes his eyes, falling asleep before Paul and Patryk can return with their road drinks/snacks.

…

It’s only a few hours later when Edd wakes up, feeling a light breeze flutter against his left side, causing him to squirm the slightest bit in his carseat, troubled by the wistful feeling against him. The wizard cracks an eye open, looking around carefully. He’s still in the backseat of Paul and Patryk’s soccer Mom van, but now he’s alone, the left backdoor wide open. He turns his head slightly, staring out the door. The car is parked now in front of a large, mighty forest, the tree looking tall enough to reach the clouds. With great care, Edd unbuckles his seatbelt and crawls over the upholstery, poking his head out to look around.

A few feet away, Tord, Matt, and Tom are gathered, Tord stretching in wide movements, suggesting to Edd that they’ve only recently awoken as well. Tom has his arm wrapped around one of Matt’s long, skinny ones, leaning on the vampire for support as he gets used to being conscious again. Matt, in the meantime, uses his unused arm to run his fingers through Tom’s messy shock of brown hair, ruffling the locks as Tom yawns, over and over again, struggling to stay awake. Edd tilts his head and smiles, slowly but surely crawling the rest of the way out of the car. He walks towards the trio, slinging an arm around Matt’s middle.

Matt doesn’t even startle. He stops petting Tom’s hair, causing the brunet to mumble something incoherent and agitated, and turns his head to smile at Edd. “Morning, my sunshine,” Matt murmurs, leaning down to kiss Edd’s forehead. “You sleep well?”

Edd smiles at the kiss, nodding his head in confirmation as he leans against Matt, enjoying the contact. “Yeah,” He replies, still a little tired. “Where’re Paul and Patryk?”

“Finding a campsite,” Tord answers, coming to stand on Edd’s other side, wrapping an arm over the wizard’s shoulders. “They should be back in good time… enjoy the moment.”

And he does. Edd sighs with contentment, basking in the early morning stillness. There are little clouds hung up in the baby blue sky above the forest, setting up for the foursome a rather scenic beginning to a long and glorious day. Slowly, Tom gets used to the morning, and he unravels from Matt, allowing the other three men to watch him as he walks around, getting a feel for the area. Tom crouches by a tree a little ways away, picking up a few leaves one at a time, fiddling with them out of either curiosity or boredom. Tord soon joins him, uncurling from Edd to join Tom by his side, taking some of the leaves and setting them on Tom’s head to annoy him.

Tom hisses childishly at this, grabbing handfuls of leaves and shoving them at Tord, but the demon does the same to Tom, going as far as pulling open the top of the smaller man’s shirt to shove handfuls of icky, dead leaves into his shirt. It isn't long before the pair begin wrestling, pushing and shoving at each other while trying to suppress their giggles. Edd laughs at the sight, grinning wide alongside Matt as the vampire secretly records the playfulness between Tom and Tord on his phone. Their tussling is short lived, though, and the couple soon rolls onto their backs, calming down and breathing in the fresh forest air.

Just then, Paul and Patryk return to the four of them, wearing hunting camo jackets and brown jeans, their wolf-like ears and tails poking out through their hair and from custom sewn holes in their pants. “We’re back,” Patryk calls out, stopping and smiling at the sight of Tom and Tord on the ground. “I see that you are all awake now.”

“Yeah,” Tom agrees from on the ground, sitting up with a soft chuckle. “That Red Bull really worked… thanks again, man,” He gives Patryk a thumbs up. “You find us a campsite yet?”

“Just an hour and a half east.” Paul confirms, coming over to help Tom and Tord to their feet, brushing the leaves off of them like a nitpicky mother.

“Off of me!” Tord orders, stepping away from Paul, offending by the werewolf’s persistence to clean him off. “Do I look like a puppy to you!?”

Tom chuckles, though he doesn’t seem to like the cleaning anymore than Tord. Slowly, Edd and Matt move over to stand by the others. “We should probably getting then, huh? We’ve got a long walk ahead.” Matt points out, eager to get moving.

Patryk nods, crouching on the ground. “Paul and I shall lead the way.” He says, before shifting into a wolf, taking the lead with Paul at the head of the pack.

Without hesitation, the other follow the werewolves into the woods, hardly able to contain their excitement.

…

The walk is rather peaceful, and Edd finds it rather therapeutic in its own way. Tom and Tord continue to pester one another on the way there, but it’s in a childish enough manner that it makes everyone laugh and chuckle. Edd stays by Matt the entire time, arm slung around his boyfriend’s middle as he walks with him, refusing to leave the vampire’s side. If Matt gets overwhelmed, Edd will be ready to help and get him out of the situation. They reach the campsite in good time, and Edd can’t hide his interest as he enters the clearing. The area is nice and secluded, and it gives everyone the chance to let loose if they need to. Also, the trees are so tall around here and their leaves are so thick that they almost block out the sun. It’s scary, but it’s also really cool to Edd.

“We’re here,” Paul announces, shifting back into a human as he rises onto his hind legs, letting out a mighty yawn as he stretches. “We need to prepare a fire before nightfall.”

“On it!” Tord calls out, elbowing past Tom. The demon grins at the werewolves, holding out his hand to Paul. “I will take the matches now.”

“Er…” Paul looks around, before blushing bright pink. “I… forgot them.” He mutters, wolf ears folding down in embarrassment.

Tord sighs, before shrugging. “Whatever. I can make a fire without some silly matches. I’m the Devil after all,” He winks at Edd. while Tom rolls his eyes. “Watch and learn, sweetpea.”

…

“ _Fuck_!” Tord screeches, throwing the sticks in his hands in a fit of rage after only twenty minutes of trying. “Stupid fucking twigs- I’ve seen better tinder in Hell!”

Edd and Matt pause from building their tent, sharing a concerned look. “Let me try, Tord,” Matt offers, stepping towards the demon with a wiry smile. “After all, I’ve been around for decades; I’m sure I can start a little fire!”

With grace, Matt takes the twigs from Tord, taking over for the incubi as Tord stomps off, putting up a fuss as he struggles to control his anger, smoke leaking out from any holes/openings in his hoodie. Tom laughs outright from the sidelines, earning a fearsome glare from Tord, but he simply shrugs it off, unafraid of his roommate and his power. Edd continues his work on the tent while Matt gets the fire started, a little confused by the task since he’s never gone camping before, but the construction manual makes it look a little simpler… it’s a first, since most construction manuals only make Edd MORE confused.

Not twelve minutes later though, “ _Goddammit_!” Matt screams, and it makes both Edd and Tom jump in surprise. Edd turns, eyebrows raising when he sees Matt throwing the twigs in his hands aside. “These stupid freaking sticks!” The vampire continues, before getting fed up and storming off.

Curious, Edd walks towards the abandoned twigs, taking them in hand. Surely it can’t be that hard to start a fire, right? Edd remembers his gran-gran starting fires in her fireplace, way back when, and she made it look simple. He’s sure he can figure it out. Determined now, Edd seats himself in front of the messy pile of sticks that Tord had set up earlier, taking a deep breath before he begins furiously rubbing the sticks together. As time passes, Edd grows more and more frustrated, unable to create even a small bit of smoke. He grows under his breath as the other boys gather around him, watching his every move.

“This stupid _FIRE_!” Edd shouts in fury, smashing his fistful of twigs into the pile. In a flash, an inferno of flame burst from his fists, lighting the twigs. “Oh my God!” He shouts, letting go of the twigs and jumping back. Edd blinks, looking down at his hands, only to find that they’re perfectly fine and not, surprisingly, burnt to a crisp. “Wha… what?” He asks, confused and scared.

Tord laughs, patting Edd on the shoulder. “Might want to watch your temper there, wizard,” He warns, laughing at Edd’s expense. “Next time, it might not be a small fire.”

Matt, on the other hand, comforts Edd, ruffling the cartoonist’s hair in a loving manner. “I think you did a great job, love. Even if the twigs were faulty…” He glares at the fire, before he softens, kissing Edd’s cheek. “How about some s'mores, hm? That sound good?”

Edd nods, but keeps his eyes fixed on the hot fire. He really needs to get this whole magic thing under control...

…

“I hate marshmallows,” Paul mutters, giving the burning, sugary confection on the end of his stick a judgemental glare. “They’re sticky and gross.”

“Hush, ya grump,” Edd orders, oddly bold as he laughs alongside his friends. “Marshmallows are the best! You can’t have a campfire without roasting some.”

Paul huffs, unimpressed. “Humans…” He mutters, rolling his eyes at Edd. “...Always trying to make food ‘fun’. Food is food.”

Tord laughs outright at this, patting Paul on the back rather roughly. “Edd’s right, friend. Do not be such a jerk. Relax! We’ve had a long day.”

“Paul and Patryk have had a long day; you threw a tantrum over a fire and sunbathed.” Tom corrects, earning a chuckle from Matt and Edd and a harsh glare from Tord.

Tord grumbles under his breath, irritated at Tom. “Shut up, you didn’t do anything either,” He growls, his knee bouncing anxiously as he looks around, his eyes glowing slightly- or is that just a reflection from the fire? “I need to move.” He complains, eyes looking around the forest with great interest and persistence.

“Agreed.” Paul states, shaking himself with a full body shudder, taking on his wolf-like appearance as he goes onto all fours, turning his head up to stare at the sky. Everyone else also looks up, eyes widening at the sight; only one thing can be seen through the canopy… the full moon.

At once, Patryk shifts as well, before letting out a long, mighty howl with Paul, the two wolves taking off into the woods. “Should we, uh, do something?” Matt asks, concerned as he breaks the silence the wolves have left in their wake.

Tom is shaking with excitement, a huge, wolfish smile on his face. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” He declares, before pulling off his shirt and running after them, becoming that large purple monster mid-sprint. Tom collides with several trees, snapping them like twigs as he runs recklessly into the forest after the werewolves.

Tord swallows, looking surprised and a little scared. He reaches into his hoodie pocket, grabbing Tom’s pen. “I should, uh… go after him. To make sure he does not hurt himself.” He explains, throwing his hoodie down on the ground and sprouting long, feathered wings as he runs after Tom.

And then there’s just Matt and Edd, sitting there in shock. “...You wanna go, too?” Edd asks, giving Matt a sideways glance.

Matt squirms on the ground, looking worried. “I sort of want to, but...:” He looks at the scar on Edd’s neck, biting his lip at the sight. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, Edd.”

“I think the only one here with even a _chance_ of hurting anyone is Tom, and he already left,” Edd says, standing up and offering his hand to Matt. “Come on; you deserve to let loose. You’ve been so stressed out lately… I’ll come with you.”

Matt hesitates, before he gives Edd a solid nod. He takes the wizard’s hand, rubbing his thumb over the man’s knuckles. “Okay,” He agrees, standing up with a slight shake about him. “But if I start freaking out… let go.” With that, he shifts into his bat form, ducking his legs in-between Edd’s legs.

Edd yelps in surprise, before he’s being lifted off the ground, his arms coming to wrap themselves around Matt’s fluffy neck. The bat lets out a loud, terrifying shriek, before Matt takes off in a run, following the smoke trail Tord left behind. They catch up in no time, and Edd can hardly believe what he’s witnessing: a large abomination of a monster leading a pack of two werewolves, a black-winged demon, and a wizard riding a vampire-turned-bat. If only those people on those reality, monster hunting TV shows could see this, Edd thinks, eyes focused on the monsters and beasties below.

Matt flies lower, staying level with Tord as Tom leads the pack, chasing after something that Edd can’t see from above the canopy. As if sensing this, Matt flies even lower, bursting below the leaves to watch the hunt. Tom, Paul, and Patryk are all after a herd of deer, Tom chasing them down while the boys catch up to him, trying to get on either side of the herd and pick out the weak link. Patryk manages to catch a buck by the leg, yanking the animal down with him. At once, Tom and Paul slow down, Paul joining Patryk to attack the buck, ganging up on the animal. Tom takes a seat nearby, for once not rampaging about.

Soon enough, the buck goes still, and Paul lets out a mighty howl of celebration. Tom roars in agreement, and soon enough, everyone but Edd is screeching/howling/roaring. With only a flash of hesitance, Edd join in alongside them, screaming to the night sky as he allows his adrenaline to fill his insides with energy. Something warm and powerful seems to spark from Edd’s shout, and suddenly, Paul, Patryk, and Tom are off again, going after the herd for another kill. Edd stares, flabbergasted as he puts two and two together… maybe he should be more careful with his energy, especially when in mixed monster company.

Matt lands afterwards on the forest floor, settling with Tord by the dead buck. Tord shakes himself off, though none of his monstrous features disappear. “Nice going, wizard,” Tord comments, voice coming out just a little too scratchy. “You just set those knuckleheads into another adrenaline rush.”

Edd blushes, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “Heheh… figured it might’ve been something like that…” He mutters, before giving the dead buck a concerned look. “What should we do about the deer?”

Tord glances at the animal’s corpse, a long, sticky, black tongue crawling out from his goat skull head, licking at his bony teeth. “I say we eat it before Thing 1, Thing 2, and the Cat in the Hat get back.”

Edd gives Tord a disappointed look. “We should save some for them… besides, we can’t eat all that by ourselves.”

Matt laughs at this, voice shrill and more than a little terrifying. “Speak for yourself,” He orders, laughing at Edd. “I could eat a village.”

“Um…” Edd pauses, swallowing around a lump in his throat. “Yeah, let’s NOT do that.” He suggests, scratching Matt behind his bat ears, causing the vampire bat to let out a rumbling purr, the sound bouncing through his chest.

“Come on,” Tord orders, breaking the tension as he picks up the dead buck, hefting it over his shoulder as he starts walking back towards the campsite. “Let’s get this grilling before those idiots come back and eat everything.”

Edd nods in agreement, patting Matt’s side. “You ready, babe?” He asks, giving the bat a friendly smile.

Matt nods, and with that, they take off flying back to camp, the sound of a wolf’s howl telling them that they’ll feast like kings tonight. Albeit, they’ll eat like rather carnivorous kings, but kings nonetheless. Edd smiles at the thought; this is a welcome change from everything else that’s been going on his life… things are finally going to be okay again. He looks down at Tord, who’s begun flying after Matt, holding the dead buck in his arms. Matt, in the meantime, flies with a certain elegance that Edd can’t even begin to describe. He sighs, closing his eyes as he rests his head on the back of Matt’s neck.

Yes… everything is finally okay again.

... 

It’s the night just after the full moon, and despite last night being such a good hunt, both Paul and Patryk decided to spend this evening scavenging together, leaving the other four to their own devices. 

“What should we do before they get back?” Edd asks, poking at the dying embers in front of him. If they were going to be staying around here it would probably be best if they kept the fire lit, but Edd feels like moving around, so…

“Yeah,” Tord agrees to an opinion nobody voiced. “I wanna get out for a bit; we should go and do something,” The young wizard just gives Tord a nervous, sidelong glance, but the demon looks innocent (genuinely, for once). “What?”

Edd creases his brow in thought. “How come you always seem to know what I’m thinking?” He pauses, thinking back to the many times Tord has answered questions he hasn’t asked, or even finished sentences for him. “Do you have mind reading powers or something?” 

Tom snorts and Tord’s chest swells, but it’s Matt who answers Edd. “Nah,” The Vampire chuckles. “He’s just scary good at reading people. All Incubi are,” He hauls himself up from his spot, stretching his long legs. “We really should go and do something, though; I feel like I’ve been sitting here for a century,” 

“There’s a lake,” Tom offers and points eastward. “Just a few kilometers out, I saw it when we were coming back from our run last night. We could go for a late night dip or something.” Tord perks up at the thought, and Edd can’t say he doesn’t share a little of the excitement, too.

“Sounds like a plan,” The demon announces, rolling away from Tom and standing himself up. He takes a second to brush all the grass off himself before hopping into his tent. In just a moment he pops his head out, though. “Did anybody else think to bring bathing suits?”

Edd and Matt shake their heads. “We’ll probably just dip our feet in the water or swim in our clothes.” Matt suggests, and Edd nods. 

Tom goes into his and Tord’s shared tent as well, before returning in just a second with an armful of swim trunks. “I got some spares,” He holds them out, allowing both Edd and Matt to chose. “There are a few different sizes here, so hopefully you guys will find something that fits?” He shrugs, but Edd accepts them with a smile.

“Thanks, Tom! Don’t know how we’d live without you.” He pretends he doesn't notice the smallest man’s blush and turns quickly to his tent. Matt follows behind him, and the two of them end up finding swim trunks that not only fit, but are in their preferred colors. When they get out of the tent, they see that Tord and Tom have both already gotten suited up as well, but both of them have kept their t-shirts on.

“It’s a bit chilly by the lake,” Tom supplies, as he looks through his bag. “I’m taking it that neither of you packed towels, either?” Both Edd and Matt smile sheepishly and Tom huffs. “I only brought two, but I’m sure we can share.”  
After the four of them are all set, they make their way to the lake, Tom taking the lead. Edd smiles warmly from behind the smaller man; he’s never seen Tom look so comfortable and sure of himself. Every time they’ve ever been out he’s hidden under his hood, but out here, where it’s just them… Tom seems absolutely relaxed. It makes Edd’s insides flutter and he doesn’t know what to do about it, so he keeps walking, attempting to ignore the flush that spreads on his face.

Tord nudges him in the shoulder and he jumps, surprised by the sudden touch. “What do you want, Tord?” He glares at the other out of the corner of his eyes, trying to disguise his embarrassment.” 

“Something wrong, Edd? You’re looking a little flustered.” Edd sputters but Tord just laughs, jogging ahead to where Tom is leading their group. The Norwegian leans down and whispers something in Tom’s ear, but Edd can’t hear it, and he can’t see what exactly Tom does in return that sets Tord into a fit of cackling. 

Edd’s stomach flips, remembering that not even fifteen minutes ago did it get revealed that it was very easy for Tord to tell what people are thinking.

The young wizard hopes Tord didn’t say anything to embarrass him, but, knowing the demon… he sighs and allows himself to trail behind a little. “Is everything alright, Edd?” Matt questions from just behind him. 

“Yeah, it’s just,” He groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tord is the last person who should be able know what others are thinking.” Matt pats his bare shoulders, and Edd grumbles indignantly. 

“I know what you mean,” Matt mumbles, picking up his pace slightly, and urging Edd to do the same. “Let’s get him back! We should try and trip him into the lake or something.” Matt tries to stifle the huge grin that threatens to cover his face, and Edd does the same. The vampire’s excitement is just too contagious!

Tom picks up the pace ahead of them, calling over his shoulder, “It’s just up here!” Both Edd and Matt quicken as well, following the other two through the last bits of the forest as they finally reach the forest lake, and it really is a sight to behold. 

“Wow…” Edd says breathlessly. With how far they are into the wilderness, there are no cities to dim the millions of stars in the sky, and every one of the tiny lights reflects on the clear, spotless lake. There’s a moment of silence, where it’s just the four of them taking in the beauty and mysticism of the scene in front of them. Edd slides his eyes shut, breathing in that purely unique lake smell, mixing with the greenery of the forest and the late summer air… this feels more like magic than anything else he’s experienced in his whole life. 

The silence doesn’t last long, though, because Matt whoops with joy next to Edd and runs toward the lake, jumping off the ledge they’re standing on with glee. He lands in the water with a splash and when he resurfaces, he yelps. “It’s really cold!” The other three laugh at his antics and approach the ledge as well, looking over into the clear water.

“Sure looks cold,” Tord mutters, nervous about the water. Edd flicks a look over to Tom, and Tom gives the smallest of nods, before they’re both pushing Tord over the edge. He squeals as he plummets over the edge, landing right next to Matt who laughs at the now drenched Norwegian. He finally resurfaces after kicking up a ton of foamy water. “I didn’t even get to take off my shirt,” He shouts in dismay. “Now I’ll be cold on the walk back to camp!” 

Tom laughs, sitting down on the ledge and swinging his feet back and forth with barely concealed amusement. “You can just use mine, I’ll make sure to keep it dry for you.” He takes it off, setting it beside him with a grin.

Edd doesn’t say anything, just sits next to Tom and lies down on his back, letting his eyes slide shut. He’ll join the others in a bit, but for now, the sounds of Tord and Matt swimming and laughing at each other, mixed with Tom’s occasional chuckle and the small splash of water… It’s kind of the best thing in the world. 

“Edd, are you falling asleep?” Tom questions, and Edd cracks one eye open.

“Nah,” Edd smiles back, sitting up with his hands splayed out behind him. “I was just thinking.” He sighs wistfully, looking at his feet and wiggling his toes.

Tom cocks his head and turns to fully face Edd. “Is everything okay?” 

The young wizard just nods, looking into Tom’s eyes warmly. “Perfect,” He says through beaming teeth, before standing up and hoisting the smaller man up with him. They’re just grinning wildly at each other when Edd wraps one of his hands around Tom’s. “You wanna swim?” 

Despite for the smallest moment looking unsure, Tom nods, walking hand-in-hand with Edd to the ledge. “If you can’t beat them…” He mutters, looking over the edge to the two men in the lake. 

Tord splashes some water up at them. “Are you losers gonna join us or not?” Tom sticks his tongue out at him, but the man in the water just laughs. “How ‘bout instead of just showing me your tongue you actually put it to-” He’s unable to say more before Edd cannonballs into the water, splashing a bunch of water directly into Tord’s mouth. He chokes, and Tom laughs before he himself dives in.

“It’s not even that cold,” Edd offers, swimming over to Matt, who was lucky enough to not get splashed much by the young wizard. The taller man shakes his head though.

“It certainly is cold! Maybe you’re fine, since you’ve got actual blood flow,” He shivers, trailing off. Within a moment, Matt is at Edd’s side, holding onto him in a desperate attempt to warm himself. He sighs contentedly. “How are you always so warm, Edd?” The smaller of the two just shrugs.

Tom floats by on his back, grinning up at the night sky. “It really is beautiful here, huh?” He remarks to nobody in particular. A chorus of ‘yeah’s fill the space between the four boys regardless.

They carry on like this for quite some time, going back and forth between rough housing and leisurely swimming. Matt eventually stops clinging to Edd and swims over to Tom, sighing at the new warmth he provides. 

“I could do this kind of thing forever,” Edd says longingly. The other three look at him questioningly, waiting for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t.

A beat of silence and then Tom speaks. “I love you guys,” It’s simultaneously the loudest and quietest sound in the world, repeating itself over and over again in Edd’s head. He fights to keep his blush down, but a quick glance at both Tord and Matt shows the gravitas those words held to everyone present.

“We are just kinda dancing around this, huh?” Tord mutters, and Matt reaches a hand up to rub the back of his neck anxiously. Edd feels his heart pounding, but doesn't say anything for fear that his best friends will somehow hear his rapid heart beat. 

They all refuse to look into each other’s eyes, but all four end up drifting closer together anyway. Suddenly, Edd feels a hand on his cheek, and is surprised to find it’s Tom’s. The smallest of them is looking nervously at Matt the whole time, but the vampire makes no move to show displeasure at the action. In fact, Matt leans his head forward and buries it into Tom's hair.

Tord puts a hand on Edd’s shoulder, and looks between them all nervously, starkly different than his usual confident demeanor. “Is this… A thing now?”

Matt just nods in Tom’s hair, and Edd is beaming up at his boys. Yeah, this definitely had to be a thing.

...

Despite it being much too early to be alive, when Paul and Patryk wake Edd for a pre-dawn fishing trip, the young wizard agrees to join them. They make their way to the lake Edd was just at the night previous, and he sighs dreamily at the thought of it. They didn’t end up talking about the nature of their relationship much, but they do know that a new chapter in all of their lives has started because of it.

“Is everything okay?” Paul asks from the side, pulling out a match to light the cigarette in his mouth (he found matches that morning, apparently). Edd just nods at the slightly taller man and tries to wipe the dumb grin off his face.

“Yeah, it’s just been really fun spending some time like this with everyone,” He shrugs, and lets a warm smile brighten his features. “It’s great to feel like one of the guys, y’know?” 

Paul stares at him blankly for a moment before nodding, the corner of his mouth quirking up just a little. “Yeah,” He takes a long puff of his cigarette and closes his eyes, reminiscing for a moment. “It has been really great to spend time like this with Red-” He coughs and corrects himself. “With Tord and his friends. It feels just like old times, but different.” 

Patryk, up a ways ahead, stops and waits for them. “Everything alright?” Edd snorts at the question. Paul and Patryk always seemed to want to be tough guys, but they always act so concerned. Paul nods for the both of them, though, assuring the other wolf that everything is fine.

The three stick together after that, and when they finally get to the lake they settle on the same ledge Tom and Edd sat on last night. The way the sunrise reflects off the water takes Edd’s breath away. “Neat,” He whispers, and both of the werewolves exchange looks of understanding.

They end up sharing a companionable silence, the three of them, as they set up rods and cast their lines, but it isn’t too long after that when the silence is broken.

“Edd,” Patryk speaks softly. The young wizard turns towards him questioningly. “I just wanted to thank you.” Paul pretends like he’s not paying attention, but his ears perk up with every sound.

“For what?” 

“You make Tord and Tom very happy. It’s been a long time since either of them have agreed to go out with us like this,” His eyes flick to his bobber when it moves slightly, but it was just the wind, so he continues. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen either of them so relaxed.”

Edd’s heart flutters. He knows how important both Tord and Tom are to the werewolves, so to hear Patryk say something like this… Makes Edd almost teary. Paul still refuses to turn around, but Edd hears a low sniff come from the man, and Patryk must too, because he scooches closer to him. 

“что не так , любовь моя?” Patryk whispers sweetly in that language that Edd doesn’t understand. He turns away, trying to give them their privacy, but he can’t help but listen in anyway.

Paul sniffs again, much more loudly, and tries his best not to blubber. “Я пропустил их много.” Patryk rubs his back and shushes him. “Прости,” Paul mutters, trying to even his breathing and regain his composure.

“Все нормально. Я пропустил их тоже.” Patryk says finally, giving Paul a couple more calming rubs. He reels in his line and casts it again, sighing thoughtfully. 

There’s a silence that hangs in the air for a while, until Paul coughs, turning to face Edd for a moment. “You’ll have to forgive me,” He apologizes. “I can get quite emotional over such things.” Edd smiles, and nods, understanding. Even if he doesn’t know exactly what the wolves were saying, it must have been about Tom and Tord. He slides over and, slowly making sure it’s okay, gives Paul a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Paul smiles gratefully, and the three turn back to the lake.

…

The next day, they start packing up. Tord handles putting out the fire (“Maybe you can put out a fire if you can’t make one” “Shut your ass up”), Matt and Tom take down the tents, and Edd assists Paul and Patryk it packing and storing the leftover fish and deer meat. “I hope Rusty is okay,” Tom says while rolling up one of the tents with Matt, his words pointed towards everyone. “He hates when I’m gone… I just hope Missy’s been taking good care of him.”

“I’m sure he is fine, sweetheart,” Tord promises, walking over to Tom with a cigar sat lazily in his mouth (He probably lit it with the dying fire). “You will see him again soon enough.”

“I… I guess you’re right,” Tom mumbles, looking flustered, before he shoots Edd a small smile. “You guys almost done over there?”

“Just about,” Edd assures, taking a deep breath as he finishes wrapping up and storing the last slab of deer meat. “What’re we gonna do with all of this anyways?”

“Eat it,” Paul deadpans, shutting the cooler for Edd. “If we leave now, we should be home by sunrise.”

“If you say so.” Edd replies, taking one last look at the camp. He allows himself one last breath of fresh air and closes his eyes, trying to make sure he remembers this place for a long time. 

Paul approaches Matt quietly, tapping the tall vampire on the shoulder. When Matt turns around, the wolf wordlessly points to the rear window of the van, at the sticker family there. Right between the decals of the man with a cape and one of the cats, is a new person. They’re tall and have a big smile, and based on the sharp fangs it has, it’s clearly supposed to be Matt. 

The redhead does his best to contain his excitement at being accepted by Paul, but he’s got the biggest smile on his face and he’s wringing his hands, like he really wants to hug him. The werewolf just nudges Matt with his shoulder and goes back to packing up camp.

Edd smiles and joins Matt in climbing into the van where Tom’s already sat himself (clearly worn out). In just a few moments Tord is lying across all their laps again, but he doesn’t leap in like last time, and Edd is thankful as he rests his head against the seat.

Patryk takes the wheel with Paul in shotgun. “I say this full moon went very well.” Patryk comments, sharing a smile with Paul.

Paul nods in agreement, glancing into the backseat. He pauses, surprised, before he smiles. He nods his head towards Patryk, urging him to look back there too. Patryk does, and he grins at the sight. Edd, Tom, Matt, and Tord are all out cold, fast asleep with one of Paul and Patryk’s old quilts thrown over Tord, covering Tom, Edd, and Matt’s laps while simultaneously keeping everything from Tord’s shoulders to his ankles warm. With one last sigh of contentment, Patryk shifts the van into drive and begins driving back towards civilization. Yes, this was a very good full moon… it may’ve been the best he’s had in years.

It helps that they got to bring their friends, this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N (Supercasey): And here we are with chapter 2 (It’s too long, goddammit)! I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this next installment of the Monster Apartments AU! I’d like to thank all of our fanartists thus far who’ve contributed to the blog; you people are the best! I won’t make this note super long (The chapter is already long enough), but I really do gotta say it again; thank you. You’re all so awesome and supportive, and we couldn’t have continued had it not been for your never ending kindness and love! Please R&R (Read and Review), and have an awesome day!
> 
> A/N (Jujukind): Yeah, this is like, way bananas too long, lmao. I hope you guys don’t mind that the climax was about halfway through, but after the ordeal we put our boys through, we wanted to make sure we end this chapter with that good OT4 shit. We sure hope you guys dug this chapter! Also, we do have that tumblr (Monster-Apartments-AU) and we’ve gotten a ton of fanart, asks, etc. Also, now that all our main boys are revealed, we’ll probably be posting some character refs and all that. Thanks again, you guys!!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N (Supercasey): And that’s a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed this AU and what’s written so far; Juju and I plan on writing more in the future. You can find us both on Tumblr (I’m ‘Supercasey’ and Juju is ‘Jujukind’)! If you wanna draw fanart on Tumblr, please tag us so we can see it, and if you draw on other sites, send one of us a link to the fanart (We live in the same house, so if you only wanna send the link to one of us, that’s fine). The tag we have set is Eddsworld MA AU on Tumblr. And again, please read and review!
> 
> A/N (Jujukind): Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this first chapter, I’d appreciate it in mad amounts if you left a review. Feel free to also follow our co-run tumblr for this AU, ‘Monster-Apartments-AU’, since we will be posting all fic chapters there first (as well as any official art, fanart, etc). I’m so happy I got the opportunity to write this fic with my sister, and I really do hope you enjoyed it.


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